Podcast appearances and mentions of antonio zadra

Madeleine Goubau répond à la question : les vêtements en duvet sont-ils synonymes de cruauté animale?; Antonio Zadra, chercheur au Centre d'étude avancée en médecine du sommeil, s'intéresse aux causes du somnambulisme; Élyse Caron-Beaudoin se penche sur la quantité de cadmium et de plomb dans le chocolat; et Alexandre Shields explique si les différentes espèces de baleines peuvent se reproduire entre elles.

In this episode, I explore the curious sleep disorder narcolepsy. With apt patient memoirs, I describe its clinical manifestations, from sleep attacks and cataplexy, to sleep paralysis and sleep-related hallucinations. I also review its association with other sleep disorders, and its non-sleep related manifestations. The podcast also discusses the genetic and acquired causes of narcolepsy, its association with hypocretin deficiency, and its risk factors. I also explore the investigations of narcolepsy, such as multiple sleep latency test, and its treatments, such as modafinil and sodium oxybate. I also discussed the history of narcolepsy, such as anecdotes its discovery by Jean-Baptiste Édouard Gélineau. I also narrate the history of how sleep researcher Eugene Aserinsky discovered the two sleep phases, REM and non-REM. To illustrate the lived experience of narcolepsy, I cite such insightful patient memoirs as that of Corrina Wetzel titled The Journey Beneath Her Heavy Feet, by Henry Nicholls titled Sleepyhead, and of Claire Crisp titled Waking Mathilda. To support the historical themes, I cite such works as When Brains Dream, by Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold, and A Portrait of the Brain by Adam Zeman.

Our dreams can be exhilarating, surprising, terrifying, even mundane. But where do they come from and what, if anything, do they mean? Dream researcher Antonio Zadra, PhD, talks about why some people remember their dreams vividly while others don't remember them at all; whether exploring dreams can offer insight into our waking lives; why nightmares happen and effective treatments for problematic recurring nightmares; understanding lucid dreaming and sleepwalking; and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is a dream really a wish your heart makes? Or is it just that your brain is an organ that never really turns off? What do your dreams even mean??? These are just some of the perplexing questions this episode posed to us and our special return guest, Trace Dominguez!SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces! Head to www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you'll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter! A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we'll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen[Definition]https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2814941/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-control-dreams/  [The Scientific Definition]Dreambookshttps://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/67/vandegrift.php#:~:text=Popular%20in%20Europe%20since%20antiquity,game%20then%20sweeping%20Northeastern%20cities.https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092158/http://www.eastm.org/index.php/journal/article/viewFile/146/134https://www.obafemio.com/uploads/5/1/4/2/5142021/dream_interpretation_in_ancient_china.pdfIncubationhttps://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft5j49p06s&chunk.id=d0e2624&toc.id=&brand=ucpress#:~:text=Common%20throughout%20all%20antiquity%2C%20the,some%20divinely%20inspired%20dream%20vision.https://www.britannica.com/topic/dream-sleep-experience/Dreams-as-a-source-of-divination#ref984709https://www.dreamscience.ca/en/documents/New%20content/incubation/Incubation%20overview%20for%20website%20updated.pdfOminous-Vapor Watcherhttps://www.obafemio.com/uploads/5/1/4/2/5142021/dream_interpretation_in_ancient_china.pdfhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Zhouli[Trivia Question]Rapid eye movement (REM) saccade speedhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780080450469010895https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1985.tb01551.xhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1983.tb03008.xhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9406327/[Fact Off]Approximating dreams with generative AIhttps://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/heres-how-ai-could-soon-decode-your-dreamsLucid dreaming and the effects of video games on dreamshttps://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2017/1/nix009/3859602https://theconversation.com/im-a-lucid-dream-researcher-heres-how-to-train-your-brain-to-do-it-118901https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-00817-001https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F1053-0797.16.2.96https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-00817-001https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-19013-002https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/21/5330636/video-games-effect-on-dreams[Ask the Science Couch]Neuroscience of fever dreams https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3830719/https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/IJoDR/article/view/28492https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6997236/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033318268718077?via%3Dihubhttps://www.accjournal.org/journal/view.php?number=1528 Patreon bonus: Recurring dream content and possible psychologyhttps://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-23497-001https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antonio-Zadra/publication/232509978_Recurrent_dreams_Their_relation_to_life_events/links/53d673f10cf220632f3da1f7/Recurrent-dreams-Their-relation-to-life-events.pdf  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810005000772?casa_token=Dofy4I_w2PsAAAAA:DdZ6qAtKJiS6OEE3Iu8pETHldBs5n1SH3lvSQl6WuCNVv9Xi8v09wuR9bWki5YROcyKWXAZ3CcN3https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01812/fullhttps://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ajp.134.12.1335[Butt One More Thing]Psychoanalyst Hans Thorner documenting a patient who dreamed of butt spidershttps://bgsp.edu/app/uploads/2014/12/Blechner-M-Patients-dreams-and-the-countertransference.pdfhttps://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429477546-12/three-defences-inner-persecution-hans-thorner

Artists and academics working in the realm of sleep, join Luke Clancy to explore the politics of sleep, from the sleep gap, to sleep and the city, and the emancipatory work of dreams, with a panel featuring Black Power Naps, Dr. Cressida Heyes, Peter Power and Dr. Antonio Zadra.

In this masterly episode of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, host Andrea Samadi offers an enlightening retrospective view of the year 2023's most impactful episodes, focusing primarily on the critically-acclaimed four-part series about The Silva Method. Dive into the archives with Andrea as she revisits this profound exploration of the mind, emphasizing the power of a winning attitude, visualization, and the transformative potential of the Silva Method. The episode is a treasure trove of wisdom, insights, and powerful takeaways, offering listeners a unique blend of personal anecdotes, philosophy, and neuroscience, revolving around the theme of harnessing the mind for unparalleled progress. Tune in and join Andrea on this enriching journey as she uncovers the timeless principles that define success and looks forward to exciting developments on the horizon. Learn the secret techniques of diving into various states of human brain - beta, alpha, theta, delta. The discussion dig deeper into the art of mental screening, visualization and dynamic meditation. Listen on as the Silva Method unfold its potential in transforming everyday lives, envisioning a promising future, and maximizing one's innate creativity. This episode also shares the effective use of Dr. Joe Dispenza's meditations for chakra-opening and energy field-expansion through the studies of Dr. Konstantin Korotkov in conflating spirituality and scientific practices. More importantly, listeners are encouraged to appreciate the power of dreams and REM sleep in unlocking the subconscious and boosting creativity and intuition for problem-solving. Regardless of whether you are a first-time listener just joining us in 2024, or a dedicated follower since the podcast's inception, this episode promises an invigorating learning experience, highlighting the role of the Silva Method in personal growth, and its potential for turning life's stumbling blocks into stepping stones for a brighter future. “Before you look at your future, reflect on your past.” (Sam Ade, author of the book Wisdom Untold[i]). (From top 10 2023)   On today's episode #322 REVIEW of the TOP 4 Episodes from 2023” we will cover: ✔ PART 1: PRACTICING THE 3 STEPS TO ACCESSING THE ALPHA STATE, USING YOUR MENTAL SCREEN FOR HEIGHTENED VISUALIZATION AND MAKING USE OF WHAT YOU SEE. ✔ PART 2: PRACTICE THE 3-SCENES TECHNIQUE WITH A PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE ✔ PART 3: TAKE THE DREAM WORLD SERIOUSLY AND SLEEP LONG ENOUGH TO LEARN FROM YOUR DREAMS. ✔ PART 4: USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO TAP INTO YOUR CREATIVE MIND. Welcome back to SEASON 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren't taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I'm Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to help us to APPLY this research in our daily lives. On today's episode #322 we will be taking a close look at the Top episodes of last year as we reflect on our past year. While we are now in the middle of Q1 of 2024, I still think it's important to “study the past, to define the future” like Confucius said. While thinking about this episode, my good friend and paranormal researcher Ryan O'Neill who we met on EP 203[i] tagged an image he created for me on Facebook, from 11 years ago, and reminded me of this concept when he said “it's good to look back to see how far you travel.”[ii] Ryan's post helped me to stop, reflect on the past 11 years, and see that progress forward happens one step at a time. Imagine yourself at the top of a spiral staircase, looking down, and you'll see how far you've come. Or like Steve Jobs said in his famous speech, it's much easier to connect the dots looking backwards. The graphic Ryan O'Neill created 11 years ago talks about the importance of “always maintaining a winning attitude” and I can say it's not always easy to do this, when times are difficult, (thinking of the stairs we must climb, the barriers or obstacles to break through on the way). We might trip, and it feels like we are going backwards, but maintaining a winning attitude along the way is one of those timeless principles that I know has shaped where I've ended up. IMAGE: The beautiful Bramante Staircase[iii] from the Vatican Museum. What about you, the listener? Take a look at the image in the show notes of the beautiful Bramante Staircase from the Vatican Museum. Imagine yourself at the top, and then reflect back on the past 10 or 11 years of your life, (like looking down a spiral staircase) and think about what do you notice. What timeless principles have kept you on track over the years? Looking backwards, what do you see? This episode is definitely written with you, the listener in mind. Looking back at the past year and the episodes that you were drawn to the most, at the end of 2023, I was initially surprised to see all 4-PARTS of The Silva Method hitting the top of the list. I wanted to Dive Deeper into The Silva Method to see how I could improve my own meditation practice, and I had no idea how impactful this episode series would be. It was actually a video series created by Spotify of my Year in Review that caught my eye. It told me that: PART 1 of The Silva Method was our most downloaded episode ever. I could see that with over 6,000 downloads. Spotify shared this episode was streamed 999% more than our average episode telling me that the topic of improving intuition, creativity and focus is of high interest to the world. That 95 % of our listeners discovered our podcast in 2023. Thank you for tuning in. And 46% of our listeners started listening to us with PART 1 of The Silva Method. Now I'm so glad that I took the time to study and learn The Silva Method alongside our new listeners. For this recap of our TOP episodes from 2023, I decided to review the Top 4 episodes from our Deep Dive into The Silva Method, since they were downloaded significantly more than others, and I've got to say that they are thorough, they require deep thought and effort for the results we are all seeking to be revealed. And only with the application of these episodes, we will learn to “use our mind in a special manner to do astounding things for us, as we'll soon see.” (Jose Silva). What we are talking about in this 4 PART SERIES is The Creative Process. The series was designed to walk us through the steps to take, to turn MIND into MATTER. I'm studying this concept deeply right now, this month with Paul Martinelli with his Think and Grow Rich book study, but this is essentially what this 4 PART series was about. We've all heard of MIND OVER MATTER, but this is not the same. We are not using force here to coerce others to do anything, or to use our will power to urge other people (or ourselves) to do something we want to occur. We are using our MIND (working from the inside-out, rather than using anything or anyone from the outside-in), allowing our MIND to work by DESIGN not DEFAULT. We are teaching ourselves to see the possibility that exists in the world, around us, and show us ALL that we can CREATE whatever it is that we want, using these timeless principles. Before I go on, just look around you right now, and take inventory of what you see. I'm sitting at my desk, in my home office, writing this episode, and I see a few pens, a highlighter, some fancy water to help me to focus while writing, my Rodecaster Pro microphone and audio equipment to the right of my desk. Now look at what you see, and take inventory of where you are right now. Now think, every single thing that you see, was created twice, as it was someone's dream to create the things we see and use in our everyday world. Someone dreamed up the fancy water I'm drinking, or the yellow highlighter, or the high-tech mic that I record these episodes with. My message here is “Don't ever wonder if your idea will work, (there's a market for everything in this world) and think of the opportunity that surrounds you, every day, and with the development of our MIND, we can say for certain that FAILURE is impossible.” We'll cover this closer at the end, but what I'm saying here is not that things will go smoothly for you, with whatever it is that YOU want to create, and that by studying this 4-part series, you'll be able to make all your dreams come true.  This we know isn't how the story goes. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns, and times you will feel defeated. But Napoleon Hill would say this is “temporary defeat” which is not at all a failure. Before seeing the results from Spotify about this 4-PART Series, and even before I decided to cover The Silva Method, I had no idea just how deep the book and program would go, and mentioned that we'll review the online course at a later time, but for now, this review will give us all plenty of new ideas for how to improve our visualization/mental screen method to help skyrocket our short term and long term goals for 2024, and solidify the fact that failure is impossible. I'd love to hear from you what you have thought of this 4-part series, where we tied in the most current brain research to Jose Silva's work, reminding me that “once we learn to use our minds to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.”[iv] On today's episode #322, we'll review the 4 parts of The Silva Method and see what else we can add to the strategies learned, keeping in mind that I'm learning and implementing these ideas alongside you, wherever you are listening in the world.  Before we look at The Silva Method, there's something important to think about first, to orient this study in our current year.  It's now the beginning of February, and you've probably already got 2024 planned out already, but before we leap into the actions we are taking in this New Year, if you haven't reflected on the wins you've attained in the past year, this is probably the most important step of closing out an old year, and moving into a new one, and it's never too late for this reflection. I learned this year-end ritual from Jim Bunch[v], who has been walking me through this year-end wrap up for the past 9 years at least, preparing those who tune in all over the world to his method, for a fresh mind moving into the New Year. We did cover his process of creating energy from your 9 environments on EPISODE #103[vi] that launched our year back in 2021, with “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain.”  On this episode recorded 3 years ago, we reviewed the process of self-reflection, to evaluate the areas of your life (your 9 environments) to notice where energy might be leaking, that you could direct somewhere else in the New Year. This self-reflection activity is a good way to close out an old year, and move into a new one, as it allows you to put some thought into your WINS, and what worked well for you in the past year. He has a printable download that goes with this activity, and what's interesting, is that without looking at your calendar, just by going off the top of your head, see if you can write out some of your wins. Without some deep reflection, you will notice that it's EASY to see the things that went wrong last year (the losses) but to see the WINS, it takes serious thought, because of our built-in negativity bias, that Dr. Rick Hanson tells us to remember--“our brain is like Velcro for negative experiences (we are attracted to the negative experiences) but our positive experiences, slide off like Teflon.” We must be intentional about reflecting on the positives that we incurred, and integrate these wins into our identity, before moving into a New Year. Let the losses roll off us. This practice will guarantee that you are building a stronger, better, more resilient, and improved version of you, each year.   Now for the TOP 4/10 most listened to episodes of 2023-as voted by you, the listener! #1 The Silva Method- Part 1[vii]  This episode opened up with a quote that we went back to often in the year.  “Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.” Jose Silva (August 11, 1914-February 7, 1999) author of The Silva Mind Control Method. This episode launched a series taking us on a deep dive into the benefits of developing a meditation practice.  This was before we dove deep into Joe Dispenza's meditations, and a good place to begin to look closer into the depths of our mind.  The goal of this series initially, was to help all of us to reduce stress with this deep mind practice, but also to see if we can learn something new, and refine our practice for those who work in our schools to improve learning, in our sports environments for improved focus and concentration towards a specific goal, and in the corporate workplace for ideas to improve creativity and focus. We began this series reviewing Jose Silva and Philip Miele's The Silva Mind Control Method[i] that's based on the Revolutionary Program by the Founder of the World's Most Famous Mind Control Course. On PART 1 of this book review covered:  ✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method ✔ What this program has done for others (in business, the sports world, or just regular people looking to improve their life in some way).  ✔ Ch 2- We met Jose Silva ✔ Ch 3- We looked at How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA,ALPHA,THETA,DELTA). ✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition. ✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization (how to access this screen) and finally  ✔ How to Help Ourselves and Others With this Practice How Do We Use the Silva Method to Access the Alpha State Where All the Magic Begins? STEP 1: HOW TO ACCESS THE ALPHA STATE: YOU CAN ACCES THE ALPHA STATE WHEN YOU FIRST WAKE UP, BEFORE BED, and ANY OTHER TIME YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO RELAX YOUR MIND. The Alpha State is the easiest state to access as we will already be in this state the first 5 minutes after we wake up. Jose Silva suggests the 40 Day Technique to guarantee you are at the Alpha Level where you begin by counting backwards from 100 to 1 for 10 mornings, then you can count from 50-1 for the next 10 mornings, then from 20-1 for 10 mornings, and then 10-1 until you get to 5 to 1.  PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE: Begin using the 100-1 countdown at night, in the morning, or whenever you plan to access the alpha level to begin to improve your current practice. In my first few days of practicing this method before sleep, and the first couple of nights, I fell asleep before I could get to 1. Keep trying. After 10 days, you can progress to the next step, until you are able to access the alpha state from counting from 5-1. Eventually you can access this state quickly, and even while walking around as Dr. Dispenza teaches us.  STEP 2: ONCE YOU REACH THE ALPHA STATE, THEN WHAT? Next, you will learn to use a Mental Screen for Heightened Visualization Once you have accessed the Alpha State, Silva reminds us:  “right from the beginning, from the very moment you reach your meditative level (what he calls accessing the Alpha State), you must learn to practice visualization.  The better you learn to visualize, the more powerful will be your experience with Mind Control.” There's an important part to this visualization process that I have to add here.  I actually started writing this review over the Christmas holiday break, and I'm always looking around for what I can “see” that will add to what I'm writing and then I saw it. In the lobby of a hotel I was staying in, I saw a sand timer sitting on the counter reminding me of this exact concept from a lesson that Brian Proctor shared with us on EP 292[viii]. I thought it was really weird to see a sand timer sitting in the middle of a hotel lobby, but when you pay attention to what you are seeing, there are messages everywhere. Here's what I saw with the sand timer that ties into this lesson. Let go of the past, (the sand that's sitting in the bottom of the timer) it's gone. Next, don't worry about the future, it hasn't happened yet, but what's important is for us to do every day, is to stay focused on the present moment, just like what we learned from Dr. Joe Dispenza. How do we learn to drop into the present moment?  THE SILVA METHOD: With the Silva Method. And we may all be at different stages of our journey here, and we'll have all learned from many different teachers. But for this review, will we be putting Jose Silva's Meditation INTO PRACTICE: When you close your eyes, what do you see? Raise your eyes up a bit (about 20% upwards above the horizon of what you see). Is it black on your mental screen, or can you use your mind to “see” things? Begin with simple things like an orange or an apple. This takes time and practice. This mental screen will help you in many ways as we move through different lessons, and is important, but don't be tied to what you think you should see. We are all at different stages of learning. I started seeing things on the screen of my mind starting in my late 20s, and things would flash sometimes when I was relaxed. I never did have control over what I was seeing. It just happened, and I would either know what I was seeing, or be wondering “what on the earth is that” and with time, effort and practice, I have gained more control over what I'm able to visualize, or “see” on this mental screen, so I can put it to better use. Looking back at this step now, a year after putting it into practice, I noticed if I want to “see” something on the screen of my mind, it helped to say what I wanted to see in thought, and then patiently wait. When I'm relaxed, without trying to force anything, I could then “see” the world on this mental screen.   This is an extraordinary practice to experience. You can be in one part of the world, and running through the mountains in another, all on your mental screen. What you see and feel in your mind can be used to enhance whatever you are working on when you open your eyes, in the “real” world. Isn't this astounding? STEP 3: Now Utilize This Power With time and practice, it will be this screen that you will learn to use, to help yourself and others. You begin with creating simple things, until you are ready to solve small problems in your daily life, from work, to health, and improve learning/creativity. This is the power of putting The Silva Method into practice and it just takes a bit of patience.  PUTTING PART 1 INTO PRACTICE: Just begin here with playing around with what you can create on the screen of your mind in the Alpha State. If you do nothing else, other than these 3 steps, you will experience what William Wordsworth called “a happy stillness of mind.” (Page 27, The Silva Method). Think of this as a journey within your mind. Each day you will be getting better and better, mentally stronger, and remember the quote we opened this episode with? “Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, you will soon see.” (Jose Silva) TO REVIEW PART 1 of THE SILVA METHOD: We covered: ✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method ✔ What this program has done for others. ✔ Ch 2- Meet Jose Silva and learned about his passion for helping others to improve their ability to learn. ✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA,ALPHA,THETA,DELTA). ✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition  using the countdown Method. ✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization ✔ It Will Be This Screen That We Will Use to Help Yourself and Others in Future Chapters. #2 The Silva Method-Part 2[ix] TO REVIEW PART 2 OF THE SILVA METHOD:  We covered: ✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation ✔ The 4 Laws that must be in place BEFORE you visualize something. ✔ We Solved a Problem with 3 STEPS (Problem, Action, Solution) with ideas to use this method for schools, sports or the workplace. ✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory ✔ The 3 Finger Technique If you want to review all of these topics, I'll link each of these episodes in the show notes.  Chapter 3 on Dynamic Meditation involves “training your mind for organized, dynamic activities” that Jose Silva thinks is what our mind was designed for.  He says “once you have reached the meditative level, to simply stay there and wait for something to happen is not enough. It is beautiful and calming and it does contribute to your good health, but these are modest accomplishments compared with what is possible.” This is where The Silva program gets exciting as we step past passive meditation techniques, to use it dynamically to solve problems. Now we'll see why it's so important to perfect what we see on the Screen of our Mind, and why daily practice of these skills is crucial. Let's use our mind for something that's useful for us—something of value. It all begins with our imagination, on this screen of our mind, but Silva says there are 4 important laws we must follow next. The Silva Program says that --Whatever it is that you want, you must: Law 1: You must desire that the event take place. (just like Napoloeon Hill's Think and Grow Rich book. His chapter 2 dove deep into the concept of Desire. Law 2: You must believe the event can take place. We have covered the topic of belief so often on this podcast. When someone has the belief in what they are moving towards, this belief goes deep into their identity, and changes the person so much, that we could look at a photograph of that same person without the belief, and see a completely NEW and changed person, once the belief has been instilled deep within them. Law 3: You must expect the event to take place. Expectation hooks you up to your source, and with action, faith develops as you draw yourself closer to whatever it is you are working on.   Law 4: You cannot create a problem. How Do We Use the Silva Method to Solve a Problem We Are Facing? STEP 1: PICK A PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE Follow the steps that will get you into the Alpha Brain State, (counting backwards from 100-1) and then lift your eyes upwards, and with your mind, create a mental screen where you will re-create the problem you want to solve. Relive the problem by seeing it and feeling it. For Schools: A problem could be a poor grade on a test, resulting in a low overall grade. For Sports: The problem could be a losing streak, or poor performance leading to a loss. For the Workplace: The problem could be a lack of sales in your organization, or poor performance somewhere. Pick the problem you want to solve, and visualize it on the screen of your mind. STEP 2: TAKE SOME SORT OF ACTION IN THE PRESENT MOMENT Next, in you mind, you will gently push the problem scene off to the right which Silva explains in his book will represent the PAST. The past is now over, so push the problem aside. Just like the sand timer example in the hour glass from our episode with Brian Proctor. The past is now gone. We are now focused on the PRESENT moment. To the left of the problem, (that represents the PRESENT MOMENT), create a NEW mental screen with the SOLUTION. Whatever you imagine will require ACTION showing you solving the problem. Most of us don't spend time thinking about the present moment or the future. We can easily get bogged down in what happened in the past. This is what I love about Silva's Method. The past is over, moved off to the side and we now focus ONLY on the present (taking action to solve the problem) and the FUTURE, which will highlight the changed outcome. For Schools: A solution could involve a student studying with more focus. For Sports: A solution could involve practicing a skill that is known for needed improvement. For the Workplace: A solution could involve presenting your product to a group of people who see its value, and decide they will purchase a large order. STEP 3: THE SOLUTION Finally, the action you have taken pays off, and you will envision the solution on the screen of your mind. Everything here is positive, and all of the feelings associated with the problem have been resolved. You celebrate the WIN here in as much detail as you can. What does this win feel like? Who's there watching you? What do you hear? What do you see? Involve all of your senses. For Schools: Picture the student celebrating when they see their efforts were rewarded with an A+ grade. This A+ will lead to many more, eventually allowing the student to receive an honor roll award at the end of the year. For Sports: You'll picture your team celebrating when the practice pays off with a WIN that eventually leads to a trophy or award at the end of the season. For the Workplace: You'll picture your team celebrating when they receive the large order that came from the hard work from the recent presentation. The team celebrates by hosting a lunch where all those involved are recognized for their efforts. It's here that you can look back to the past, like through the rear-view mirror we have in our car, and it should look different to you now that you've created a NEW future. You might still be able to “see” and remember things from those days when you had a problem to solve, but now, looking back, my hopes are that the vision of the future changes whatever it was that you didn't like in the past.  The past is over. Now we are living in the present moment, building a new future. These are some examples of using The Silva Method to train our brain towards our desired outcome. Does it always work? No, Silva says, but with time and practice, we'll start to see improvements that we might chalk up to be coincidences. He suggests stopping this practice altogether, and the coincidences will also stop. Start back up again, and they will reappear. You'll see…just practice this, and let me know what YOU see. With practice, the results you will see will be more and more astounding. This entire exercise, with practice, can be done with just 15 minute blocks of time, once you've got the hang of it. #3 The Silva Method- Part 3[x] In Part 3 we covered: ✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA, ALPHA, THETA, DELTA).   ✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition.   ✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization   ✔ How to Help Yourself and Others Using a Mental Screen in Our Mind   Before writing this episode, I wondered how exactly could our mind be trained... Was daily meditation not enough? If it was, how do I even know if I'm meditating the right way? What was I missing from my current practice? What can we learn from the years of research behind Jose Silva's popular program that could help all of us to refine our current meditation practice? A year later, Dr. Joe Dispenza's meditations helped me to understand why meditation helps to train our mind, especially with the concept that it opens up our chakras, and expands our energy field, allowing us to have more capacity. Our interview #307[xi] Dr. Konstantin Korotkov on “Bridging the Spiritual World with Rigorous Scientific Method” gave us the science behind this practice. The quote I chose for PART 3 makes more sense to me today, with a year of practice behind me.   A genius is a man who has discovered how to increase the intensity of thought to a point when he can freely communicate with sources of knowledge not available through the ordinary rate of thought.” –Napoleon Hill, author of the Best Selling Classic Book, Think and Grow Rich. This ability is available to all of us. Practice each of these parts of the Silva Method and take your time.  In PART 3, we were reminded that Jose Silva took the dream world very seriously, and he was interested in using dreams to solve problems. His programs teach us to first of all remember your dreams and suggests writing them down as soon as we wake up. MAKE SURE YOU ARE SLEEPING LONG ENOUGH TO ACCESS YOUR REM SLEEP: Author Stephanie Gailing reported in her Complete Book of Dreams[xii] that “since dreams that arrive in the early morning are thought to be more vivid and complex” to be sure you are sleeping long enough that you don't miss out on this last REM stage of sleep. How would you know WHEN your REM sleep is? You can use a sleep tracker to measure this. You can see an example below where my sleep was logged with the wearable tracker called Whoop, showing my REM sleep as 53% than my 30-day average. Whoop reminded me that “REM sleep is key to processing new memories, learnings and motor skills.” When I saw this, I immediately wrote down the dream that I had (that I could remember) to see what I could learn from this dream. We've covered dreams on this podcast with EPISODE #224[xiii] with Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Baland Jalal on “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming and Premonitions” or EPISODE #104[xiv] with Antonio Zadra and his book “When Brains Dream” and I even took a stab at explaining “Why Our Dreams Are So Weird, Highly Emotional and Often Forgotten” on EPISODE #226[xv] as I've personally been interested in deciphering the messages that come through in our dream state. To find answers in your dreams, first of all, have the intention that you will remember them. Then pay to attention to: -who was in my dream? -what did they say? -what can I learn from this? Like Jose Silva, I take the dream world seriously and find tremendous value from consolidating new learnings and then being open to discovering valuable insights that could possibly help me, or others close to me.  TO PUT PART 3 INTO ACTION: WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAMS as soon as you wake up TAKE THE DREAM WORLD SERIOUSLY MAKE SURE YOU ARE SLEEPING LONG ENOUGH TO ACCESS ALL OF YOUR REM SLEEP HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU WILL REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS WRITE DOWN ANY INSIGHTS FROM YOUR DREAMS THAT COULD HELP YOU OR OTHERS CLOSE TO YOU. #4 The Silva Method- Part 4[xvi] For PART 4 we covered: ✔ Ch 8-Your Words Have Power ✔ Ch 9-The Power of Imagination ✔ Ch 10-Using Your Mind to Improve Your Health ✔  We will connect the most current neuroscience research to Jose Silva's program, using Dr. Andrew Huberman's podcast on "The Science of Creativity" ✔  The 3 Parts to Your Creative Brain (Central Executive Network, Default Mode Network, Salience Network). ✔ 2 Types of Thinking Involved with Creativity (Divergent and Convergent) ✔ Putting Creativity to Practice with an example from our schools, sports and modern workplace environments.  with some clear examples and next steps for all of us to APPLY the Silva Method for improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus…right in time for a New Year. This part opened up with the importance of the power of our imagination. This is really what Jose Silva is encouraging us to do with his Method. Open up our creative minds, through the use of our imagination, and CREATE. We talked about it in the beginning of this review, that we ALL have the ability to create something new and that temporary defeat is not the same things as failure. If you are working on something, and it's been a difficult treck from your starting point, to where you'd like to go, take a look back over the past 10 years, from where you are standing now (like you are at the top of a spiral staircase) and see how far you have come. What you do with the Silva Method is up to you. You can practice and refine each part until you're ready for more, and then look up The Silva Ultramind Program. This is when you'll now be taking these concepts and bending your mind in ways I never could have imagined on my own. It's here that I highly suggest looking into Mind Valley[xvii], where Vishen Lakhiani recreated Joe Silva's program with The Silva Ultramind system. NOTE- I'm not affiliated with MindValley in any way. I've just taken this course to keep learning and applying The Silva Method.   You can look through the 30-day curriculum and see how this system was designed to help the learner to “develop their mind …” I don't think reviewing this course on this podcast in words could ever do it justice. You've just got to experience it for yourself and notice what you learn from the meditations tied to each of the lessons. If you got to PART 4 of this program, and nothing creative is jumping out at you yet, keep going. This is what I learned from Ultramind Program: Day 1-5 the program helps you to develop and use the mental screen in your mind. I love the activity on Day 5, “projection into your home” because it taught me to become familiar with my own home, a place I see every day, in a whole new way, helping me to open my eyes to the beauty not just in front of me every day, but in the rest of the world. Days 10-15 the program helps us to perfect the “3 scenes technique” and create whatever it is that our heart desires. We learn about psychometry, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience. That's all it I'm going to say about this program other than how it's something that has to be experienced. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION: To review and conclude EP 322 and our review of the 4 PARTS of the Silva Method, I've got to say that the goal of this 4 PART review of Jose Silva's Program, was to encourage all of us to see if we could learn something new, to take our results to new heights in 2024. Before I began this review, I had no idea just how deep the book and program would go, or how much our listeners would be drawn to these lessons. If you are one of the 46% of our new listeners who found our podcast from PART 1 of The Silva Method, I want to welcome you, and thank you for tuning in this year. Our past listeners will know that we cover topics to help us to take our results to new heights tying the most current neuroscience research to improve productivity and results in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces, and The Silva Method is about self-mastery, self-awareness and learning to look within for answers. I'd love to know what you have learning from implementing The Silva Method in your life. Send me a message and let me know. THEN PRACTICE: And keep refining each part. PART 1: PRACTICING THE 3 STEPS TO ACCESSING THE ALPHA STATE, USING YOUR MENTAL SCREEN FOR HEIGHTENED VISUALIZATION AND MAKING USE OF WHAT YOU SEE. PART 2: PRACTICE THE 3-SCENES TECHNIQUE WITH A PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE PART 3: TAKE THE DREAM WORLD SERIOUSLY AND SLEEP LONG ENOUGH TO LEARN FROM YOUR DREAMS. PART 4: USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO TAP INTO YOUR CREATIVE MIND. Remember that if you do nothing else than practice the 3 steps in PART 1, you will be experiencing what William Wordsworth called “a happy stillness of mind.” (Page 27, The Silva Method). If you want to go beyond PART 4, look up MindValley's Ultramind Course. And with that, I'll close out this episode, and encourage all of us to keep learning, growing and practicing what we are learning. Like the quote we used for PART 4 of this review from Dr. Andrew Huberman, “The ability to be creative resides in everybody.” Keep working on looking how you can “reveal something new to the world, something entertaining, thrilling or useful) that changes the way we access the world—acting as portals into the world and ourselves.”  If you get stuck here, just look around you, at all the creative ideas you can see.   If you are still stuck, think about this. The oldest person alive today is 116 year old. Go back 116 years ago, and this is not far off from when The Wright Brothers discovered the ability to fly an airplane. (1903). Think of all the inventions made over the past 100 years, and then imagine someday, that something that YOU create, could possibly be sitting on my desk, used by the world like the fancy water I'm drinking, or the Rodecaster Pro microphone.   What will you create with The Silva Method?   If you are stuck in temporary defeat, find something that inspires you to get unstuck, and keep moving. I find inspiration and motivation in people who move quickly past difficult times and challenges, as well as in things. Look up some of the oldest Cathedrals in Europe and imagine the creativity behind these buildings. Then keep going.   Let me know what you create…and I'll see you next week.     RESOURCES:   MEDITATION  1: How to Enter the Alpha Level of Mind, Step by Step Process, The Silva Method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpMJWT6EsNs MEDITATION 2: Jose Silva Method Alpha Exercises by Sommer Leigh Published on YouTube June 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SY0kajVITA MEDITATION 3: 20 Minute Silva Centering Exercise with Vishen Lakhiani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_4GDXWBPCk   Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/   Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #262 PART 2 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/   Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #263 PART 3 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-speed-learning-and-creative-sleep-part-3/ Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast PART 4 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/     REFERENCES:   [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#203 with Ryan O'Neill  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/   [ii] Ryan O'Neill Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SuccessCoachRyan/posts/pfbid013GKasSayhQPi28Qui7rhUZiyFnvVdhHJgApfrHjANM6CXzFbkYCTYa12Z6PmTsXl?comment_id=697035065922357&reply_comment_id=7281858451877023¬if_id=1706773747021477¬if_t=comment_mention&ref=notif   [iii] https://www.cnn.com/style/article/spiral-staircases/index.html   [iv] Email Andrea Andrea@achieveit360.com   [v] https://jimbunch.com/   [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#103 The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain for Our Best Year Ever  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-leadership-3-ways-to-reset-recharge-and-refuel-your-brain-for-your-best-year-ever/   [vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/   [viii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #292 with Brian Proctor on “My Father Knew the Secret”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-proctor-on-my-father-knew-the-secretgrowing-up-with-bob-proctor/   [ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #262 PART 2 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/   [x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #263 PART 3 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-speed-learning-and-creative-sleep-part-3/   [xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #307 with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov on “Bridging the Spiritual World with Rigorous Scientific Method” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/   [xii] Stephanie Gailing Complete Book of Dreams Published October 20, 2020  https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Dreams-Illustrated-Encyclopedia/dp/1577152131   [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #224 with Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Baland Jalal who Explains “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming and Premonitions: Expanding Our Awareness into the Mysteries of Our Brain During Sleep” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-neuroscientist-drbaland-jalalexplainssleepparalysislucid-dreaming-andpremonitionsexpandingour-awareness-into-the-mysteries-ofourbrainduring-sl/   [xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/   [xv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#226 “Using Neuroscience to Explain Why Our Dreams Are So Weird, Highly Emotional and Often Forgotten”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-using-neuroscience-to-explain-why-our-dreams-are-so-weird-highly-emotional-and-often-forgotten/   [xvi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast PART 4 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/   [xvii] www.mindvalley.com      

Sleep, nutrition, and metabolism expert Greg Potter, PhD, is back on the podcast today with a new twist on help for those interested in sleep. Greg is an international public speaker, science writer, consultant and coach, focusing on working with individuals and organisations to adopt easy and long-lasting lifestyle modifications that add years and quality to life. His work has appeared in dozens of worldwide media sources, including Reuters, TIME, and The Washington Post, and he frequently contributes to prominent websites, blogs, and podcasts. On today's podcast, Greg joins Chris to discuss the use of psychedelic drugs for improved sleep and mental health. Greg talks about the types of psychedelics currently being researched, including psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA, their mechanisms of action, and their potential roles in improving sleep and health. He shares some of the most interesting results from the clinical literature, including therapeutic effects for treatment-resistant depression and the impact of these substances when combined with meditation or psychotherapy.  Here's the outline of this episode with Greg Potter: [00:05:28] What are psychedelics? [00:06:33] Main types of psychedelics. [00:09:37] Uses of psychedelics. [00:12:01] Minidosing and microdosing. [00:13:09] Psilocybin use as a spiritually significant event; Study:  Griffiths, Roland R., et al. "Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects." Psychopharmacology 218 (2011): 649-665. [00:14:14] Mystical experiences. [00:16:00] Mechanisms of action. [00:20:01] Greg's experience with psychedelics. [00:30:27] Integration work. [00:32:47] Entourage effects. [00:37:18] Chris's experiences with psychedelics. [00:41:22] Relaxing priors; Carhart-Harris and K. Friston; Study: Carhart-Harris, Robin L., and Karl J. Friston. "REBUS and the anarchic brain: toward a unified model of the brain action of psychedelics." Pharmacological reviews 71.3 (2019): 316-344. [00:41:45] Karl Friston's Free Energy Principle; Paper: Friston, Karl. "The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory?." Nature reviews neuroscience 11.2 (2010): 127-138. [00:43:47] Psychedelics and sleep architecture. [00:49:51] Psilocybin and sleep; Study: Dudysová, Daniela, et al. "The effects of daytime psilocybin administration on sleep: implications for antidepressant action." Frontiers in pharmacology 11 (2020): 602590. [00:51:58] Ayahuasca and sleep; Study: Barbanoj, Manel J., et al. "Daytime Ayahuasca administration modulates REM and slow-wave sleep in healthy volunteers." Psychopharmacology 196 (2008): 315-326. [00:54:34] REM sleep and dreaming. [00:58:42] Hobson's Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis. [00:59:38] Lucid dreaming. [01:00:02] Book: When Brains Dream: Understanding the Science and Mystery of Our Dreaming Minds, by Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold. [01:00:04] Videos: TedX talk - Sleep, Memory and Dreams: Fitting the Pieces Together and other videos. [01:03:41] Fear Extinction. [01:05:32] Podcast: From Magic to Mindfulness: The Evolution of an Entrepreneur, with Jason Connell. [01:07:33] Combining LSD and MDMA; Study: Schmid, Yasmin, et al. "Acute subjective effects in LSD-and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy." Journal of Psychopharmacology 35.4 (2021): 362-374. [01:08:31] Psychedelics as adjunct to other interventions. [01:09:16] Review: Payne, Jake E., Richard Chambers, and Paul Liknaitzky. "Combining psychedelic and mindfulness interventions: Synergies to inform clinical practice." ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science 4.2 (2021): 416-423. [01:09:57] Psilocybin combined with other spiritual practices; Study: Griffiths, Roland R., et al. "Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors." Journal of Psychopharmacology 32.1 (2018): 49-69. [01:12:01] Psilocybin with expert meditators; Study: Smigielski, Lukasz, et al. "Characterization and prediction of acute and sustained response to psychedelic psilocybin in a mindfulness group retreat." Scientific reports 9.1 (2019): 1-13. [01:13:25] Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). [01:14:59] Podcast: Microdosing Psychedelics and the Placebo Effect, with Balázs Szigeti. [01:20:08] Psilocybin without psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression; Study: Goodwin, Guy M., et al. "Single-dose psilocybin for a treatment-resistant episode of major depression." New England Journal of Medicine 387.18 (2022): 1637-1648. [01:21:58] Drug harms; Review: Nutt, David J., Leslie A. King, and Lawrence D. Phillips. "Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis." The Lancet 376.9752 (2010): 1558-1565. [01:23:41] Potential contamination; Fentanyl. [01:25:29] Find Greg online: gregpotterphd.com; Instagram.

“A genius is a man who has discovered how to increase the intensity of thought to a point when he can freely communicate with sources of knowledge not available through the ordinary rate of thought.” –Napoleon Hill, author of the Best Selling Classic Book, Think and Grow Rich. In PART 3 we cover: ✔ A look at Speed Learning with 2 strategies we can all use right away to learn faster, and remember what we have learned longer. ✔ Creative Sleep, and how to use our sleep to solve problems, improve creativity and intuition in our waking hours, with 4 steps to improving your ability to use and remember your dreams. Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast and PART 3 of our Review of Jose Silva's Mind Control Program. I'm Andrea Samadi an author and an educator, who like many of you listening, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind ANY high-performance strategy proven to increase our results in our schools, sports, or modern workplaces. If there's something NEW that I come across that can help us in any way, I'll investigate it, connect it with the most current research, and then share what I learn with you here. If you've been following the past few episodes, you'll know that I came across Jose Silva's work with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram, from EPISODE #260[i], who has launched 7 successful companies, and mentioned that this book completely changed his world. I had heard of this book and Silva's Program over the years, and many of the concepts that Jose Silva mentions in his book, but had not read it cover to cover, or practiced the audio training that goes along with the book, so I decided to do a complete review of the program, like we did with Napoleon Hill's book at the start of this year, and see how this book, that was popular in the 80s and 90s could connect to the interviews we've done previously on this podcast. Especially when Friederike Fabritius mentioned on EPISODE #258[ii] that our mind can be trained to produce flashes of insight, that can help us in business and our personal lives and what Jose Silva would say could reveal “some astounding things” with a trained mind. I wondered how exactly could our mind be trained... Was daily meditation not enough? If it was, how do I even know if I'm meditating the right way? What was I missing from my current practice? What can we learn from the years of research behind Jose Silva's popular program that could help all of us to refine our current meditation practice? Then I thought back to a class I took with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of mindfulness, who reminded us in this class that we are already perfect, (as we are) and that mindfulness is not about “attaining a certain state, (that brings us to this new level of perfection) but that we are already whole and perfect.” Whatever program we are doing now, the idea of this book review is not to say that Jose Silva's method is better, or that we might be missing something from what we are already doing, but to see if there's anything NEW that we cover here, that interests us to dive deeper into, to further enhance our current practice. Jim Kwik, the founder of Kwik Learning[iii], has said that “we've discovered more in the past 20 years about our brain than we've known in the previous 2,000 years combined” and I think it's so exciting to share new strategies to help us all, which is the purpose of this podcast. When I learn something new, something that can help me to improve in any way, this energizes me, this gets me all jazzed up, and I know I can't be the only one like this. I'm sure for those of you who tune into this podcast, can relate to what I'm saying and I'm honored that you've chosen me to study with, wherever you might be tuning into this podcast around the world. I love looking at the statistics to see where listeners are tuning in from in over 168 countries, which is a Geography lesson for me when I look at the map of the world.   For this book review, little263-INTRO did I know just how powerful Silva's program would be, when I recorded PART 1 of this series.  As I began reading each chapter that Jose Silva wrote many years ago when he was on a quest to increase learning for his own children, I began piecing together many of the strategies that we've covered on this podcast for improving learning, focus, creativity, imagination and productivity, all backed by science, right within the pages of The Silva Method. I made many connections to past episodes and research, including Dr. John Dunlosky from EPISODE #37[iv] where he spoke about using “spaced repetition” as an evidence-based method for improving recall for students, that we will cover today. This research also appears in John Almarode, Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher's recent book, How Learning Works: Translating the Science of Learning into Strategies in Your Classroom that we covered on EPISODE #161[v]. Or even the importance of mindfulness and meditation in the classroom, for athletes or in the workplace. The connection to current research was enough for me to see that Jose Silva was on to something with the methods he wrote about, years before the research would take off exponentially in this area. Daniel Goleman wrote about this in his book Altered Traits[vi] where he showed a visual with the research on Mindfulness and Meditation going up exponentially from the year 2000, to 2020. My goal with this review of The Silva Method[vii], is to help all of us to learn something new to refine our current meditation practice whether we are working in our schools to improve learning, in our sports environments for improved results towards a specific goal, or in the corporate workplace to generate new ideas. I wouldn't have picked this book to review if it hadn't made such an impact on the world, like Napoleon Hills' book, but I had no idea the concepts I would learn each week, would be so powerful, and life-changing. After releasing the first 2 PARTS of this program, I began to receive messages from our listeners around the world who have used Silva's Program, even from those who used it years ago. Then my good friend Hans Ajay from the UK, urged me to sign up for the full program through MindValley[viii], (where the course sits today after Vishen Lakhiani (the founder) revised and improved it in this current version. Hans wrote “It'll be transformative.” I don't need anyone to twist my arm if there's going to be transformation and learning occurring, so I signed up immediately taking what I'm learning in the pages of Silva's book to a whole new level. I'll stick to covering each chapter, but have to say that the experiential exercises have brought each chapter to life in a way that I don't think it's possible for me to show with my writing. I'll connect as many exercises as I can find online with each chapter review, and encourage those of you who want to learn more to explore the entire program further through MindValley. This course is unlike anything I've ever experienced in all my years of studying and learning. To REVIEW,  In PART 1[ix] we covered: ✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method ✔ What this program has done for others. ✔ Ch 2- Meet Jose Silva ✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA, ALPHA, THETA, DELTA). ✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition. ✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization ✔ How to Help Yourself and Others Using a Mental Screen in Our Mind UNDERSTANDING HOW TO ACCESS THE ALPHA BRAIN STATE: Once we understand the different brain states, and how to access them, it makes more sense as we dive into the Alpha State, and practice visualizing on the screen of our mind in this state with the meditation exercises. Understanding the Alpha Level of Mind is the first step in Silva's Mind Control Program, and used by itself, had tremendous health capabilities. When you are daydreaming, or just going to sleep but not quite there yet, or just awakening but not yet awake, you are in Alpha Brain State that Silva calls the "inner consciousness” where he says is our mental world exists, with no time or space. With Silva's Mind Control training you can enter the Alpha level at will and still remain fully alert, which is where the exciting part of his program begins. I found 2 meditations on YouTube that I've listed below to help us to gain access to the experiential activities and take the first steps to applying Jose Silva's program into our daily life. ALPHA MEDITATION 1 How to Enter the Alpha Level of Mind,   This first video is an introduction, helping us to understand how to enter the Alpha state of mind easily. Jose Silva explains what one needs to do to reach the Alpha, or meditative, level of mind, and this video illustrates his words beautifully. ALPHA MEDITATION EXAMPLE 2: Here's a second example I found on YouTube of entering the Alpha State and practicing our Mental Screen, with the 3, 2, 1, countdown method in a (25 minutes meditation) with Sommer Leigh, who reads Silva's Alpha Meditation exactly as he would, but obviously this time, it's with a female voice and peaceful music. Sommer does address the fact that someone new to meditating should begin with counting down from 100 to 1 to reach the Alpha level, using the countdown method that Silva suggests. If you prefer a male voice for this activity, you can sign up for MindValley.com where Vishen Lakhiani goes through this same exercise, that he calls “Tapping into Alpha with a Centering Exercise” or you can hear Vishen's YouTube version of The 20 Minute Silva Centering Exercise here from MindValley's Channel. Once you reach the Alpha level, (either in the morning, or a night or any time of day that you have to spend 15 minutes) Silva explains this is where we envision a peaceful place to help us to relax our mind, and body for improved health. This is also the place where we can practice solving a problem that we will go deeper into in PART 2. This meditation ends with the 1-5 countdown method to exit the meditation, where we feel better than we did before. Jose Silva reminds us that if we did nothing other than practice going to this peaceful state of mind, it would have tremendous health and wellness benefits that research now proves to be true. In PART 2[x] of our review, on our last episode, we covered: ✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation (where we actually DO something while meditating, instead of it being a passive practice). ✔ The 4 Laws that must be in place BEFORE we visualize a goal. ✔ How these 4 Laws mirror Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich book. ✔ 3 STEPS to SOLVE ANY PROBLEM Using the Silva Method on the Screen that We Build in Our Mind. ✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory ✔ Where Silva's Memory Hacks have been seen on previous episodes and in the motivational speaking industry. In PART 3 of our review, today's EPISODE #263, we will cover: ✔ Ch 6-Speed Learning ✔ Ch 7-Creative Sleep For Chapter 6: Speed Learning I couldn't begin writing about Silva's strategies, without referring to Jim Kwik[xi] first, the founder of Kwik Learning, who created his entire business around how to reader faster, work smarter and think better by accelerating your learning and your life by unlocking what he calls our “superbrain.” Jim Kwik reminds us something I'm sure we've all heard of a million times, that school teaches us WHAT to learn (History, Math, Science, Languages) but “there are ZERO classes on how to learn, listen, focus, concentrate, solve problems, read faster or remember things.” We mentioned Howard Berg, The World's Fastest Speed Reader on our last episode, who taught us on EPISODE #189[xii] many skills that school never taught us, like speed reading or memory tricks. Jose Silva was ahead of his game when he began looking for ways to teach his children, and eventually thousands of others who studied his methods, to learn faster, and be able to remember what they learned for longer periods of time. He offers two strategies in his book: STRATEGY 1: THE MENTAL SCREEN FOR LEARNING PAIRED WITH THE 3 FINGER TECHNIQUE Silva suggests using our Mental Screen for learning, to speed up and deepen what we learn. He also uses the 3 Finger Technique to help us to reach the Alpha State quicker, which can be done while reading to help with focus, concentration and retention, and he outlines a teacher from Denver who used this Three Finger Technique to teach her students spelling with a list of 20 words. To test them, she would ask them to write down the words they studied that week, recall the words using the Three Finger Technique, and see the words on the screen of their minds. She was able to teach all of her students to remember their spelling list with this method. STRATEGY 2: RECORD YOUR VOICE The second method for Speed Learning, I'm most interest in, as I had heard about this strategy in the past. Silva suggests recording your voice when you need to learn something new. When I worked in the seminar industry, we called this a “loop tape” and this strategy was for anyone who wanted to take their results to new heights. Whether they were studying for a test, and needed to learn something new, or an actor who needed to memorize their lines quickly, a loop tape was recommended.  I even remember it was suggested to me when I first moved to the US, and found life in this new country to be challenging. The first thing our offices said was “has Andrea created a loop tape of what she wants her life to look like?” Sounds a bit off the wall, but if you don't think something first, on the screen of your mind, you'll be less likely to know what you are looking for when you see it. It's crazy to look back now, because my current life looks pretty much the way I imagined it to look 20+ years ago, when I created my first loop tape, and even drew a sketch of what I envisioned the house I would live in, would look like. PUTTING THIS INTO PRACTICE: For someone who want to apply this strategy to learning something new, Silva suggests to read the chapter that you are studying out loud (or whatever it is that you want to remember) and record it while you're in the beta brain state, or wide awake and focused. Next, he says, go to the alpha brain state (by counting backwards using the 3, 2, 1 method, or with the 3 Finger Technique and listen to what you recorded while in this state, concentrating on your voice.  For added reinforcement, he suggests to let a few days pass and then do it again. Read the material in your beta state and play it back in alpha. This is also in line with Dr. John Dunlosky's research, using spaced repetition. Chapter 7 of The Silva Method on Creative Sleep. Silva took the dream world very seriously, and he was interested in using dreams to solve problems. His programs teach us to first of all remember your dreams and suggests writing them down as soon as you wake up. We've covered dreams on this podcast with EPISODE #224[xiii] with Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Baland Jalal on “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming and Premonitions” or EPISODE #104[xiv] with Antonio Zadra and his book “When Brains Dream” and I even took a stab at explaining “Why Our Dreams Are So Weird, Highly Emotional and Often Forgotten” on EPISODE #226[xv] as I'm personally been interested in deciphering the messages that come through in our dream state. I mentioned on our recent episode with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram about how motivational speaker Bob Proctor would encourage all of us to write down our dreams to see what we could learn from them. I've got quite the dream log that goes back to the late 90s, and while no one other than myself would understand the significance within my scribbles, they are very clear to me. Here's an example: I was planning to move from Toronto, Canada, to Arizona, USA in January 2000. I had applied to come to the USA on the H1BI VISA for the work I was doing with teenagers, and I didn't get the paperwork I needed until April 2001. You can see a dream I recorded Dec 14th, 2000 where I wrote “Bob at office putting in new computer telling me how I should set up my Phoenix office” that to someone else might be just a bunch of jumbled words, but to me, that was a clear sign that I was going to eventually finally make it to Arizona, with some suggestions on how to set up my office when I got there. I remember this dream clearly, with Bob actually hiding the wires behind my computer under my desk.  With each log I've written, I can now go back over the dream in my head whenever I want, and the messages within each dream are obvious…at least to me.   HOW TO USE YOUR DREAMS AS GUIDANCE:   I've used this dream log to guide me in my personal and professional life and highly encourage anyone who wants to gain more self-awareness to try this activity. Silva began using dreams to solve his problems back in 1949 and said the more he studied, the more humbling it became as he realized he knew less and less as time moved forward. He was always looking to learn more to help others with his research. He writes an incredible story about how he dreamed of 3 numbers, and couldn't figure out what they were, until a string of events led him to a gas station, where someone he was with saw the numbers on a lottery ticket. He bought the ticket, and went on to win $10,000 that he used to fund his research over the years. This isn't the only story where dreams have had a significant importance. Richard Bach, the author of the book “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” an important book in the field of personal development, was almost never was written. Richard Bach explains that he couldn't figure out the ending to this story, until he saw the ending in a dream he had, helping him to finish the book. This book made the cover of Time Magazine, and Bach credits The Silva Method for the mental discipline and visualization he needed to complete this book. PUT THIS STRATEGY INTO PRACTICE: BEGIN BY  WRITING DOWN YOUR DREAMS as soon as you wake up. I used to keep a notebook next to my bed, to do this, but now, with a phone nearby, I wake up and use the notepad on my phone.  But what if you don't recall your dreams? Dreams are hard to remember, and Stephanie Gailing, the author of The Complete Book of Dreams says that “on average, within 5 minutes we forget 50% of what we dream and within 10 minutes, only 10% may remain”[xvi] and “there are certain neurotransmitters (brain chemicals)  necessary to transform short-term memories into long-term ones; some of these including norepinephrine are at a very low level while dreaming, therefore create an innate blockade to having our nighttime visions etched in our mind.”  TAKE THE DREAM WORLD SERIOUSLY: If you can be like Silva, and put value on your dreams, Gailing says “those who revere their dreams and accept them as an integral part of their life remember them more often.” I learned from Vishen Lakhiani, in the Silva Ultramind Online course that some indigenous cultures that he's come across in his studies, wake up and begin their day by discussing their dreams and what messages they can see from their dream state. I know we are far off from starting our corporate meetings this way, but if you can do this on your own, I do promise you will see things that will help you in your everyday life. MAKE SURE YOU ARE SLEEPING LONG ENOUGH: Gailing reported in her Complete Book of Dreams that “since dreams that arrive in the early morning are thought to be more vivid and complex” be sure you are sleeping long enough that you don't miss out on this last REM stage of sleep. How would you know WHEN your REM sleep is? You can use a sleep tracker to see. I put a screen shot of my REM SLEEP from last night that shows at what points in the night I was in REM. My report showed last night's REM sleep to be 21% higher than my 30 day average, but I unfortunately did not remember my dreams from last night. HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU WILL REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS: The strategy of having the intention of remembering your dream works well, and also not worrying if you don't remember them every night. My dream log has weeks of gaps where I didn't remember anything at all, or it just wasn't something I thought was important to remember at the time. To bring this episode to a close, and REVIEW Chapter 6 on Speed Learning and Chapter 7 on Creative Dreams, In Chapter 6 on Speed Learning we looked at 2 Strategies that included Using the mental screen paired with the 3-finger technique if you want to learn something quickly, using the Alpha Brain State. Silva also covered recording your voice, or creating what I knew of as the “loop tape” of whatever it is that you want to remember. You would record what you want to remember in the BETA State, and then listen to it in the Alpha state (using the 3 finger technique or counting backwards). In Chapter 7 on Creative Dreams we covered 4 strategies for remembering our dreams, and taking them seriously like Jose Silva himself did. In the resource section, I've put the links to the three meditations I found online that can help you to take Silva's ideas to new heights in your own life. I hope that you take the time to go through the meditations where you will see what Hans Ajay told me. They are transformational.  I wanted to learn something new with my current meditation practice, and had no idea just how deep Jose Silva's Program would take me. Next episode we will cover: Episode #164 ✔ Ch 8-Your Words Have Power ✔ Ch 9-The Power of Imagination ✔ Ch 10-Using Your Mind to Improve Your Health Will see you next episode. RESOURCES: MEDITATION  1: How to Enter the Alpha Level of Mind, Step by Step Process, The Silva Method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpMJWT6EsNs MEDITATION 2: Jose Silva Method Alpha Exercises by Sommer Leigh Published on YouTube June 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SY0kajVITA MEDITATION 3: 20 Minute Sila Centering Exercise with Vishen Kakhiani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_4GDXWBPCk REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #260 with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram on “Breaking Down the Mindset of the Million Dollar Monk” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/serial-entrepreneur-and-computer-scientist-hasan-ibne-akram-pd-d-on-breaking-down-the-mindset-of-the-million-dollar-monk/ [ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 3258 Neuroscientist and Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author on “The Brain-Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Quit and How to Make Them Stay” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/neuroscientistwallstreet-journalbestselling-authorfriederike-fabritius-onhernew-bookthe-brainfriendly-workplacewhy-talented-peoplequitand-how-tomake/ [iii] https://kwiklearning.com/ [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #37 with Dr. John Dunlosky on “Improving Student Success with Some Principles from Cognitive Science”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kent-states-dr-john-dunlosky-on-improving-student-success-some-principles-from-cognitive-science/ [v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #161 with John Almarode, Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher on “How Learning Works: Translating the Science of Learning into Strategies for Maximum Learning in Your Classroom” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/johnalmarodedouglas-fisherand-nancyfreyon-how-learning-works-translatingthescience-oflearningintostrategiesformaximum-learning-inyourclassroom/ [vi] Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and bod Published September 5, 2017  by Daniel Goleman  https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Meditation/dp/0399184384 [vii] The Silva Mind Control Method https://silvamethod.com/ [viii] www.mindvalley.com [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1 “A Deep Dive into Applying the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/ [x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#262 PART 2 “A Deep Dive into Applying the Silva Method: Dynamic Meditation and Improved Memory”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/ [xi] https://kwiklearning.com/ [xii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #145 with Howard Berg, the World's Fastest Speed Reader on “Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension and Recall”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-worlds-fastest-reader-howard-stephen-berg-on-strategies-to-improve-reading-comprehension-and-recall-for-educators-and-the-workplace/ [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #224 with Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Baland Jalal who Explains “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming and Premonitions: Expanding Our Awareness into the Mysteries of Our Brain During Sleep” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-neuroscientist-drbaland-jalalexplainssleepparalysislucid-dreaming-andpremonitionsexpandingour-awareness-into-the-mysteries-ofourbrainduring-sl/ [xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/ [xv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#226 “Using Neuroscience to Explain Why Our Dreams Are So Weird, Highly Emotional and Often Forgotten”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-using-neuroscience-to-explain-why-our-dreams-are-so-weird-highly-emotional-and-often-forgotten/ [xvi] The Complete Book of Dreams: A Guide to Unlocking the Meaning and Healing Power of Your Dreams by Stephanie Gailing Published October 20, 2020  https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Dreams-Illustrated-Encyclopedia/dp/1577152131  

Antonio Zadra explique comment rêvent les personnes aveugles; Charles Prémont s'intéresse à la musique qui donne la chair de poule; Jean-François Gagnon répond à la question d'un auditeur qui se demande si la musique peut être mathématiquement parfaite; et Véronick Raymond parle de la dignité des Autochtones au sein du système de santé québécois.

Dreams are so personal, subjective and fleeting, they might seem impossible to study directly and with scientific objectivity. But in recent decades, laboratories around the world have developed sophisticated techniques for getting into the minds of people while they are dreaming. In the process, they are learning more about why we need these strange nightly experiences and how our brains generate them. In this episode, Steven Strogatz speaks with sleep researcher Antonio Zadra about how new experimental methods have changed our understanding of dreams. “The Joy of Why” is a podcast from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation. Funding decisions by the Simons Foundation have no influence on the selection of topics, guests, or other editorial decisions in this podcast or in Quanta Magazine. “The Joy of Why” is produced by Susan Valot and Polly Stryker. Our editors are John Rennie and Thomas Lin, with support by Matt Carlstrom, Annie Melchor and Leila Sloman. Our theme music was composed by Richie Johnson. Our logo is by Jackie King, and artwork for the episodes is by Michael Driver and Samuel Velasco. Our host is Steven Strogatz. If you have any questions or comments for us, please email us at quanta@simonsfoundation.org.

“Dreams are one of the great mysteries of science. In their bizarre complexity, they can reveal deeper truths about who you are at the most basic level.” Researcher at Harvard University and the World's leading expert on sleep paralysis, Dr. Baland Jalal Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/nE15JIqy5rU On the episode you will learn: ✔ Who is Dr. Baland Jalal, and how did he find his way to study neuroscience and sleep, becoming the world's leading expert on sleep paralysis?  ✔ How is Dr. Baland connected to Francis Crick, who discovered the double helix of the DNA structure and Dr. V.S. Ramachandran? ✔ What is sleep paralysis and what happens to the brain while this is occurring? ✔Why is the time just before we go to sleep and the time just before we wake up important for increasing our creativity or gaining insight? ✔ Are premonitions real, and can we access important information from our dreams? ✔Can we actually travel to places we have never been? ✔ What is lucid dreaming and how can we gain insight from what we see in these dreams? ✔Can lucid dreaming be beneficial for our waking hours? ✔What advancements in neuroscience do you think could help us in the future with our dreams? For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new here, I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator, with a passion for learning, understanding difficult concepts, and breaking them down so that we can all use and apply the most current research to improve our productivity and results in our schools, sports environments, and modern workplaces. On today's EPISODE #224 (that was postponed from April due to our guest's busy travel and work schedule) we are going to go beyond where we've ever gone before on this podcast, and cover some topics that you might have questions about, like I did, and I've found Dr. Baland Jalal[i], from Harvard, the world's leading expert on sleep paralysis, who has published 48 peer reviewed academic papers as well as a book from Cambridge University Press, to answer our questions.   We've covered dreams before, on EPISODE #104[ii], with Sleep Scientist Antonio Zadra and his book When Your Brain Dreams: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep but I left out some parts of the dream world that I thought might be too weird for this podcast, until I heard Dr. Jalal connecting the brain to our dreams, and this changed everything for me. I mentioned on EPISODE #211, that when I first was introduced to Dr. Jalal, his team sent me an email with his Harvard Bio and a write-up about his work on dreams but little did I know that his work would open my mind to places it's never been before, as I began to explore sleep paralysis (something I've experienced—just once which was enough for me, I just had no idea there was a name for it), lucid dreams (that I flat out thought I was crazy for having), and learning how my brain operates while dreaming, which revealed more truths about who I am at the core than I knew before coming across Dr. Jalal's work. I've gone on to study English scientist and professor of neuroscience, Mathew Walker and often tune into his podcast that's all about sleep, the brain and the body[iii] to see how we can all learn more about ways to improve our sleep, which we all know to be one of our top 5 health staples. I did create this podcast to bring credibility to some of the concepts that used to be considered weird, but now, science and FMRI scans show why these practices that 20 years ago were not mainstream, are now commonly used in our schools and work environments.  Before watching Dr. Jalal's lectures, I don't think I would openly talk about the experiences I've had with the dream world, but I thought if I've experienced these things, what if our listeners have also, wherever you are listening to this podcast in the world, and perhaps hearing from Dr. Jalal WHAT these bizarre things called dreams actually are, WHY we have them, and see if they can expand our self-awareness, and open up our world to a new level and even be used in a way to improve our productivity, creativity and results in our waking life. My mentor Bob Proctor was always challenging me to stop looking at life through the key hole, and instead, open up the door and expand my level of awareness. He would say, “Once the mind has been expanded, it will never go back to its original state. Awareness is not something you lose.” (Bob Proctor) When Dr. Jalal and I were working on rescheduling our interview, he asked me how early on a Sunday I would wake up, since he is currently in Europe, and my response to him was that I would wake up at midnight to speak with him about this topic because it's fascinating and I know will help all of us to expand our thinking. Let's meet Dr. Baland Jalal, and see if he can shed some light with what neuroscience can tell us about our dream world. Welcome Dr. Jalal, thank you for coming on the podcast, and helping all of us to expand our thinking about what happens in our dream world—especially knowing that this time takes up 1/3 of our life and that our sleep is such an important health staple. Thanks for being here today…I know you have been busy recording your second TED TALK and that you are in Europe now? I'm hoping you can shed some light for ways we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves through our dreams, and what neuroscience can tell us about our sleeping brain. Intro Q: I've watched all of your most recent podcasts, and had no idea how much I would learn from them. I really enjoyed your interview on The Ranveer Show[iv] as Ranveer seemed like such an open-minded person. You mention your beginnings on this podcast that I think are important to begin with since there's a lot more to you than we see without listening to your story, so I've got to ask, can you take us back to your humble beginnings, and then how you met your mentor (Dr. V.S. Ramachandran)?[v] Q1:  Until I heard your lectures, I probably wouldn't ever admit to the fact that I had felt sleep paralysis. It's such a weird and scary experience, and you explained it EXACTLY as I felt it over 20 years ago. For those listening, can you explain what sleep paralysis is, why we become paralyzed during REM sleep, and what's happening in our brain to make this happen? Q1B: Why does it feel so scary? I had an experience that if I had not heard you say this, I probably wouldn't be mentioning it at all—but I thought there was a ghost laying on my chest. I could see him (in my head) and he definitely “felt” evil. Did my brain play a trick on me with what I was seeing and feeling or was there really a ghost in this sleep paralysis experience? Q1C) How did you become known as the world's leading expert on sleep paralysis and then I saw the topic of your most recent TED talk you how are you have designed one of the first treatments for sleep paralysis to help people who experience this terrifying phenomenon regularly? Q2: I think it's crazy that most of us have had these experiences, but we would just leave them off the table of our regular conversations with people, since they are just so weird. I actually remember asking a sleep expert years ago why I could “see things” in my head in those moments that I was drifting off to sleep. He wrote down the term “hypnagogia[vi]” and told me to study that.  I can sometimes see people's faces and sometimes what I see foreshadows important events many years later. What can you tell us about the importance of this time before sleep and wake, and how insights can be drawn from what we see so we can trust what we see to be useful? 2B: Sometimes during this time, we can have the sensation of floating above our body.  I know you've talked about this often, and explain what's happening in the brain for this to occur. Can you explain the part of our brain that's responsible for our self-awareness, (Temporal Parietal Lobe) and how we could possibly see another version of ourselves floating above our self? (Sup Parietal Lobe) Q3: Premonitions? Is there any TRUTH to what we are dreaming? Are there messages from our waking hours in our sleeping world? I think there are (after seeing common themes in my dreams from my waking hours) but what do you think? After your research and connecting science to dreaming, why do we have dreams? Are we supposed to learn from them? What part of our brain can help us to interpret our dreams? Q4: What about lucid dreaming. At the time I first wrote these questions (in April) I didn't know there was a name for this. There are times just before I wake up, or times just before I go to sleep, that I can see things. My eyes are closed, (but I can feel them opening and moving around in my head as I'm trying to see this vision in my head) that I think are lucid dreams. Some of these visions have helped me in life with massive life-changing decisions and others I have no idea what I'm supposed to be learning from them. One example I can give you that I have no idea what the purpose of the vision is—there's a hallway, and I can see people walking down the hallway. I know where this hallway is, and who the people are from what they are wearing. I've never been there before, but there's certain things in the hallway, in addition to the people, that tell me where it is.  The last time I saw this hallway, I was able to (for the first time) zoom in on certain parts of the hall, and see photos on the wall, or the light at the end of the hallway, where the people were walking.   I know this hallway is a real place, because I saw a news clip of it, and had this immediate feeling of recognition like “that's the hallway” but the camera in the news clip was shooting from a different angle than what I saw in my dream and I kept thinking…turn around, so I could see the hallway as I saw it in my head. What's happening here? How can see “see” places in our mind where we have never been before? I don't need to ask if it's real because I'm certain it is from what I have seen, but what's the purpose of have a lucid dream? 5: When we are “lucid dreaming” I recently learned from Mathew Walker's research that in this state, our PFC that usually shuts down usually in dreaming, lights up and this explains why we can actually interact with people in our lucid dreams, or gain control of our dream.  I've always just been an observer (like my hallway example I'm standing behind the people) but recently saw that I could zoom in and out of the hallway and see the pictures on the wall--wouldn't it be neat if we could interact with the people we see, or even bring back something to show we really were there, like a pen from someone's desk or something. You mention that you had this experience, and that you put a piece of paper in your pajama pocket. Can you explain what happened to the paper? Do you know how to control lucid dreams so they could be beneficial for us? Q6: If lucid dreaming is real, and I think it is, couldn't we use this skill for improved productivity or creativity in our waking hours? Could athletes use this for mental rehearsal since dreaming of doing something is almost equivalent to actually doing it? What about in the workplace to gain access to ideas or answers to problems? Is there a way to enter lucid dreaming at will vs just randomly happen (which is how it happens for me)? I can't control what I see, it just happens. Q7: How can we “test” ourselves to see if we are dreaming or not so we can develop Lucid dreaming more? Is it like the MATRIX when Neo puts his hand on the wall and it either stops, or goes through?  Can we do this to test if we are dreaming or not? What are you learning from your dream experiences to help yourself and others? Q8: For people to learn more about your work, is the best place to follow you on YouTube where you post your lectures? Thank you very much Dr. Jalal, for coming on the podcast, opening up my awareness BEFORE the interview, and giving us all an understanding of how our brain connects to our dream world. I hope it can help others to not be afraid of what they see during REM sleep, and keep searching for answers to help them in their waking hours, with whatever it is they are working on. It's been such a pleasure to speak with you. FOLLOW DR. JALAL Facebook https://www.facebook.com/balandjalal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balandjalal/?hl=en YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/DrBalandJalal   RESOURCES: Sleep Paralysis and the Monsters Inside Your Mind by Baland Jalal July 15, 2020 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sleep-paralysis-and-the-monsters-inside-your-mind/       REFERENCES:   [i] Dr. Baland Jalal https://psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/baland-jalal [ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/ [iii] Mathew Walker's Podcast https://themattwalkerpodcast.buzzsprout.com/ [iv] The Ranveer Show Published on YouTube July 30, 2021 Neuroscientist Explains Scary Secrets of Your Brain https://www.youtube.co/watch?v=vJ_7h-OijAQ&t=24s [v] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._S._Ramachandran https://www.ted.com/talks/vs_ramachandran_3_clues_to_understanding_your_brain [vi] What is Hypnagogia, the State Between Wakefulness and Sleep https://www.healthline.com/health/hypnagogia  

Back on the podcast, today is sleep, nutrition, and metabolism expert, Greg Potter, PhD. Through his academic research, public speaking, consulting and writing, Greg empowers people to make simple and sustainable lifestyle changes that add years to their lives and life to their years. His work has been featured in dozens of international media outlets, including Reuters, TIME, and The Washington Post, and he regularly contributes to popular websites, blogs, and podcasts. In this podcast, Greg is talking about light, including the importance of getting out in the sun and also modern problems with artificial light. He discusses the impact of light on the circadian system along with up-to-date recommendations related to light hygiene. We discuss practical tips for reducing light at night (not all of which involve putting away your device), and why not getting the right kind of light might be keeping you from achieving your body composition goals. Here's the outline of this episode with Greg Potter:  [00:02:14] Wellics Corporate Wellness Software. [00:06:49] The importance of light. [00:08:30] The introduction of electric light. [00:09:55] myLuxRecorder (Satchin Panda's app, no longer available); Podcast: How to Use Time-Restricted Eating to Reverse Disease and Optimize Health, with Satchin Panda. [00:10:37] How light influences the circadian system. [00:15:34] Consensus paper with recommendations related to light hygiene; Study: Brown, Timothy M., et al. "Recommendations for daytime, evening, and nighttime indoor light exposure to best support physiology, sleep, and wakefulness in healthy adults." PLoS biology 20.3 (2022): e3001571. [00:19:13] Practical tips for reducing light at night. [00:22:44] Increasing prevalence of myopia. [00:23:46] Podcast: Getting Stronger, with Todd Becker. [00:26:01] Vitamin D synthesis; Podcast: The Pleiotropic Effects of Sunlight, with Megan Hall. [00:26:15] Effects of light on mood and cognition. [00:27:24] Effect of light exposure patterns on cognitive performance; Study: Grant, Leilah K., et al. "Daytime exposure to short wavelength-enriched light improves cognitive performance in sleep-restricted college-aged adults." Frontiers in neurology (2021): 197. [00:28:14] Effects of light on metabolic health. [00:28:20] Dan Pardi podcast featuring Peter Light: Sunlight And Fat Metabolism: A New Discovery. [00:28:52] Effect of bright and dim light on metabolism (Netherlands); Study: Harmsen, Jan-Frieder, et al. "The influence of bright and dim light on substrate metabolism, energy expenditure and thermoregulation in insulin-resistant individuals depends on time of day." Diabetologia 65.4 (2022): 721-732. [00:30:53] Effects of light on skin and immune function. [00:31:57] Highlights #15 (topics: Sun avoidance & exposure, increasing testosterone, Robert Sapolsky). [00:35:14] Skyglow. [00:36:48] Light at night and endocrine disruption. [00:37:45] Light at night and quality/duration of sleep. [00:38:19] Blue light in the evening interferes with sleep homeostasis; Study: Cajochen, Christian, et al. "Evidence that homeostatic sleep regulation depends on ambient lighting conditions during wakefulness." Clocks & Sleep 1.4 (2019): 517-531. [00:38:53] Effects of light at night on sympathetic nervous system/cortisol; Study: Rahman, Shadab A., et al. "Characterizing the temporal dynamics of melatonin and cortisol changes in response to nocturnal light exposure." Scientific reports 9.1 (2019): 1-12. [00:39:26] Effects of light at night on heart rate, HRV, insulin resistance; Study: Mason, Ivy C., et al. "Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119.12 (2022): e2113290119. [00:41:34] Effects of moon phases on sleep; Study: Casiraghi, Leandro, et al. "Moonstruck sleep: Synchronization of human sleep with the moon cycle under field conditions." Science advances 7.5 (2021): eabe0465. [00:45:40] Effects of individual sensitivity to light; Study: Phillips, Andrew JK, et al. "High sensitivity and interindividual variability in the response of the human circadian system to evening light." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116.24 (2019): 12019-12024. [00:47:55] Camping and melatonin synthesis across seasons; Study: Stothard, Ellen R., et al. "Circadian entrainment to the natural light-dark cycle across seasons and the weekend." Current Biology 27.4 (2017): 508-513. [00:48:40] Seasonal changes in thyroid hormones (meta-analysis): Kuzmenko, N. V., et al. "Seasonal variations in levels of human thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroid hormones: a meta-analysis." Chronobiology International 38.3 (2021): 301-317. [00:53:24] Effect of location in the world; Podcast: Morning Larks and Night Owls: the Biology of Chronotypes, with Greg Potter, PhD. [00:54:30] Daylight Savings Time transition and  traffic accidents in the US; Study: Fritz, Josef, et al. "A chronobiological evaluation of the acute effects of daylight saving time on traffic accident risk." Current biology 30.4 (2020): 729-735. [00:56:08] Effects of Daylight Savings Time on cardiac events. [00:56:48] Daylight Savings Time and cyberloafing; Study: Wagner, David T., et al. "Lost sleep and cyberloafing: Evidence from the laboratory and a daylight saving time quasi-experiment." Journal of Applied psychology 97.5 (2012): 1068.  [00:57:26] Circadian clock disrupted by Daylight Savings Time; Study: Kantermann, Thomas, et al. "The human circadian clock's seasonal adjustment is disrupted by daylight saving time." Current Biology 17.22 (2007): 1996-2000.  [01:00:44] Implications of permanent daylight savings time. [01:03:37] Effects of light at night in animals; Study: Sanders, Dirk, et al. "A meta-analysis of biological impacts of artificial light at night." Nature Ecology & Evolution 5.1 (2021): 74-81. [01:09:14] Minimizing the impact of light at night on wildlife. [01:13:50] Human-centric lighting at hospitals; Study: Giménez, Marina C., et al. "Patient room lighting influences on sleep, appraisal and mood in hospitalized people." Journal of sleep research 26.2 (2017): 236-246. [01:14:51] Babies in a neonatal unit did better with light/dark cycle; Study: Vásquez-Ruiz, Samuel, et al. "A light/dark cycle in the NICU accelerates body weight gain and shortens time to discharge in preterm infants." Early human development 90.9 (2014): 535-540. [01:17:59] Effects of light at night on plants; Study: Ffrench-Constant, Richard H., et al. "Light pollution is associated with earlier tree budburst across the United Kingdom." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283.1833 (2016): 20160813. [01:18:50] Maturation of soybeans shifted with  artificial light at night; Study: Palmer, Matthew, et al. Roadway lighting's impact on altering soybean growth. No. FHWA-ICT-17-010. 2017. [01:19:44] How to optimise your light environment. [01:19:54] Incandescent vs compact fluorescent bulbs. [01:21:58] LED lights. [01:25:33] Light-emitting devices with screens; metamerism. [01:26:20] Using metamerism to regulate impact of digital devices; Study: Allen, Annette E., et al. "Exploiting metamerism to regulate the impact of a visual display on alertness and melatonin suppression independent of visual appearance." Sleep 41.8 (2018): zsy100. [01:26:51] Software that reduces your exposure to short wavelengths: Nightshift (iPhone), Night Light/Blue Light Filter (Android), f.lux. [01:27:23] Apps to prevent short-wavelength light emissions do help; Study: Gringras, Paul, et al. "Bigger, brighter, bluer-better? Current light-emitting devices–adverse sleep properties and preventative strategies." Frontiers in public health 3 (2015): 233. [01:27:31] Blue-light blocking app did not improve sleep; Study: Smidt, Alec M., et al. "Effects of Automated Diurnal Variation in Electronic Screen Temperature on Sleep Quality in Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial." Behavioral Sleep Medicine (2021): 1-17. [01:28:31] Blue-blockers. [01:31:31] Recommendations for shift workers. Greg's paper on this topic: Potter, Gregory DM, and Thomas R. Wood. "The future of shift work: Circadian biology meets personalised medicine and behavioural science." Frontiers in Nutrition 7 (2020): 116. [01:33:34] Jet lag: Jet Lag Rooster. [01:37:27] Find Greg on Instagram, TikTok; gregpotterphd.com [01:37:56] Book: When Brains Dream: Understanding the Science and Mystery of Our Dreaming Minds, by Antonio Zadra. [01:38:08] Book: The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World, by David Deutsch. [01:38:32] Book: The Precipice by Toby Ord.

Did you know that “the shorter we sleep, the shorter our life will be?[i]” Professor Matthew Walker, The New Science of Sleep and Dreams On this episode you will learn: ✔︎  A review of the importance of sleep on our physical and mental health. ✔︎ How lack of sleep attacks the memory centers of our brain. ✔︎ 2 science-based strategies to improve memory and never forget anything ever again. ✔︎ Tips for how to use these strategies in your life for improved results. Have you ever said, “I'll sleep when I'm dead” or pushed through your work possibly doing an all-nighter, thinking that you'll catch up over the weekend? The most current research shows that this is a really bad idea, as Matthew Walker, the author of the book, Why We Sleep, tells us that “lack of sleep attacks the hippocampus (where memory and learning take place) and increases the risk for various forms of cancer.”[ii]  We have covered the importance of sleep on this podcast in many different places, including a BONUS episode in December 2020 where we talked about sleep as one of The Top 5 Health Staples[iii] we should all pay attention to, but Professor Matthew Walker reminds us that “as we are getting older, our learning and memory abilities fade and decline...and that a physiological signature of aging is that our sleep gets worse” which contributes to cognitive or memory decline. I don't know about you, but as I'm going through the next 50+ years of my life, I'd like to have a sharp memory, in addition to a healthy body that can help me to do the things I want to do with work and family and when I find something that's NEW and INTERESTING, I will share it with you, wherever you might be listening to this podcast, so it can help you in your personal and professional life. My hope is that today's Brain Fact Friday makes us all think about how we can improve our sleep, memory and overall health as I share the most current research, and how I'm applying it for improved results and productivity. We are now nearing the end of Season 7 of the podcast on “Brain Health and Well-Being” and will begin Season 8 in June, on “Brain Health and Learning.” Having a theme for each season helps me to stay focused on the guests we bring on, as well as the questions I ask them. If there is a topic of interest to you, please send me a message[iv] and let me know. Today we are going to take a deeper look at the importance of sleep on our learning, memory and overall health, as we prepare to speak with the world's leading expert on sleep paralysis, Dr. Baland Jalal, from Harvard University, who will help us to connect the brain to some of our weirdest sleep experiences, with the hopes that this connection can help us to all learn something new, and perhaps use some new strategies to make sleep a priority that will in turn improve our memory and learning in our waking hours. While researching for our next interview with Dr. Baland Jalal[v], I've been looking at what some of the leading experts have discovered about our dreams and sleep. I did explore what I was learning on EPISODE #211 on “The Neuroscience of Dreams: Expanding Our Self-Awareness”[vi] to open up the door for this interview and always want to remind everyone of EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream”[vii] but today I want to highlight how our sleep is important for learning and memory consolidation, hoping the Dr. Jalal will deepen our understanding of our dream world, take some of the mystery out of what happens to our brain during sleep, and bring some strategies to the forefront that we can use to improve our productivity in the 16 hours of our waking day. So Why is Sleep So Important and Critical to Look at For Our Health, Well-Being and Productivity? Professor and Neuroscientist Matthew Walker, from the University of California, reveals a recent study with adults who got 6 hours of sleep vs 8 hours, and they noticed that in the “6 hours of sleep group, that certain genes were turned off (the immunity genes)” that we all need to fight against disease and viruses, and the genes that were turned on were the genes that produced tumors in the body. We've all heard of how important sleep is, and how it's nonnegotiable for our health, but this study put sleep back on the map for me to keep investigating to see how else it can be improved. After our interview with Dr. Jalal, I hope to show how our dream time can benefit our wake time, and how we can use our sleep time for improved creativity, focus and productivity while we are working/awake. Since lack of sleep “attacks the hippocampus” of the brain, where our memories are first formed, and then consolidated from short-term to long-term memory, I wanted to share some strategies where our memories can be strengthened, with or without a good night of sleep. I share these 2 strategies with you, as I recently had to draw on them, and then while listening to Stanford Professor and Neuroscientist, Dr. Andrew Huberman's most recent podcast, on Understanding and Improving Memory[viii], I made some connections to the memory building techniques I've been using, while Dr. Huberman showed how science proves these strategies grounded in science. If what Matthew Walker says is true, and that as I'm getting older, my learning and memory abilities are fading and declining, it would make sense to me to find some ways to strengthen my memories to prevent this from occurring. Last week, the day before interviewing Dr. Marie Gervais, for EPISODE #214[ix] something weird happened and I lost the questions for our interview. The good thing is that it was the day before the interview, so I had time to recreate them, but what was interesting is that I relied on my memory to do this quicker than if I had to start from scratch. While I know I don't have a photographic memory, where I could remember every word by detail, after listening to Dr. Andrew Huberman's podcast on Improving Memory with Science Based Tools, I could see how science really helped me in this situation. USING SCIENCE TO STRENGTHEN OUR MEMORIES   TIP #1 Taking a Mental Snapshot in Your Mind. Until I heard Dr. Huberman talking about this as an effective, science-backed method for improving our memory, I wouldn't have believed it myself, even though I do this all the time. He drew on a research article about Photographic Memory[x] where he explained it's not in the sense of remembering every word of writing on a page (like some people can do) but a bit different—something he has been doing since he was a young kid, and something I've done since I was young as well. It's when we take either an actual or mental photograph of something we want to remember, and the research says that if it's something we choose to remember ourselves (it's volitional) then our memory of this snapshot is enhanced, and even if we delete the actual photograph, if we took one, that we should still be able to recall every detail in the image, from our mind, for years to come. HOW TO USE THIS IN YOUR DAILY LIFE I thought about this example with recreating my questions for Dr. Gervais. Because I was in an emotional state while reading her book, and creating her questions, you would think this is what helped me to remember them when I had to recreate them (because her book The Spirit of Work was all about connecting to her at the soul level). I had the research, and went through each point, and remembered where the questions came from, but the places I could remember the questions clearly, were the ones that were connected to images I had seen (whether on social media) or somewhere that I remember thinking “yes, this goes along with what I want to ask” and it was the mental image recall that helped me to remember her questions. If you want to try this, take either a mental, or an actual photograph of something you want to remember. Remember it must be volitional, not something someone else wants you to remember. While taking the photo, or imaging it, pay attention to what you are seeing. Where is the picture? What's in the background? Is there a person in the picture? What are they wearing? Is there anything about the photo that would allow you to pinpoint the month the photo was taken? Are they wearing something that stands out? Where are they standing? How are they standing? What's behind them? Is there a window in the photo? What's outside the window? Is it daytime or nighttime? Now that you've got your mental image, delete it, stop thinking about it, and wait a week, and see how much of the image you can remember. With practice, you should be able to recall details from these mental or actual snapshots, many years later. Dr. Huberman did say that the research showed that although the image could be recalled, that the auditory along with the image would be diminished, or that vision trumps our auditory senses.  TIP #2: Highly Emotional States + Adrenaline=Enhanced Memory. Dr. Huberman shared a study that was done by Cahill and McGough[xi] that showed when you are in a highly emotional state, adrenaline is released but what is interesting about this study is that “it's not the emotion that stamps the memory down, but it's the presence of adrenaline”[xii] that solidifies the memory. He said “You don't need to take anything to spike adrenaline” (Dr. Andrew Huberman) you just need to find what works for you and if it “makes your eyes go wide and breathing increase” then you've spiked your adrenaline. He did give some suggestions of ways to recreate this adrenaline boost in our brain to enhance learning and memory, without using repetition (the most popular research based strategy for learning retention) like cold ice baths or showers to increase adrenaline, or exercise that I use often. HOW TO USE THIS IN YOUR DAILY LIFE: How do you approach learning and memory? With this research in mind, did you think about stamping the memory of what you want to remember with adrenalin? Have you heard of strategies to increase adrenalin in your body (like a cold shower or cold bath) to stamp down your learning? I talked about this with Dr. John Ratey when I interviewed him on EPISODE #116 on “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”[xiii] when I told Dr. Ratey that in order to study neuroscience, write these episodes, and make sense of it all, I had to run up a mountain, or do some sort of rigorous cardio activity in order to be able to sit at my desk and actually understand what I'm reading. Dr. Ratey agreed that I needed to create the neural chemicals needed for learning and memory. How do you approach learning and memory? Exercise, cold baths, or some other method? I'd love to know… To review this week's Brain Fact Friday Did you know that “lack of sleep attacks the hippocampus”[xiv] the part of the brain that plays a role in learning and memory. If we want to protect this part of our brain, then paying attention to how much and how long we sleep is a responsible next step for us to all focus on, in addition to working on strategies that can strengthen this important part of our brain. We covered 2 tips for implementing how an understanding of our brain can improve productivity in our life with the mental snapshot strategy that will allow you to remember anything, even if you've deleted it, by paying attention to whatever it is that you want to remember, and then practice this, to strengthen this part of your memory center. If you are like me, and have deleted something, you'll never have to worry, because it will never be lost, when you've backed it up with a mental snapshot. The second strategy of enhancing our memories is with the idea that it's not just our emotions that make our memories stick, but the presence of adrenaline and to find ways to increase adrenaline naturally (like through exercise) to create the neural chemicals that our brain needs for learning and memory. I hope you've enjoyed this episode, and that you have taken away something to improve your brain health and well-being. I'll see you next episode with Dr. Baland Jalal where we will see what we can learn about ourselves, by diving into the dream world. REFERENCES: [i] The New Science of Sleep and Dreams, Professor Matthew Walker Published on YouTube June 28th, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j9xCC_VtQA [ii] The New Science of Sleep and Dreams, Professor Matthew Walker Published on YouTube June 28th, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j9xCC_VtQA [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE on The Top 5 Health Staples from December 11th, 2020 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/ [iv] Contact Andrea https://www.achieveit360.com/contact-us/ [v] The Neuroscience of Dreams by Dr. Baland Jalal Published on YouTube Feb.13, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBL-51kIkc [vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-dreams-expanding-our-self-awareness/ [vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/ [viii] Understand and Improve Memory Using Science-Based Tools by Andrew Huberman May 16, 2022 https://hubermanlab.com/understand-and-improve-memory-using-science-based-tools/ [ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #214 with Dr. Marie Gervais on “The Spirit of Work”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/marie-gervais-phd-on-the-spirit-of-work-connecting-science-business-practices-and-sacred-texts-for-a-happier-and-more-productive-workplace/ [x] Photographic Memory: The Effects of Volitional Photo Taking on Memory for Visual and Auditory Aspects of an Experience by Barasch, Diehl, Silverman and Zauberman published at Yale University January 26, 2017  https://faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Barasch-Diehl-Silverman-Zauberman-Photographic-Memory-Psych-Science.pdf [xi] A Novel Demonstration of Enhanced Memory Associated with Emotional Arousal Published December 1995 by Larry Cahill and James L McGaugh https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053810085710483 [xii] Understand and Improve Memory Using Science-Based Tools by Andrew Huberman May 16, 2022 https://hubermanlab.com/understand-and-improve-memory-using-science-based-tools/ (31:49). [xiii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #116 with Dr. John Ratey on “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/ [xiv] The New Science of Sleep and Dreams, Professor Matthew Walker Published on YouTube June 28th, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j9xCC_VtQA

Everything you've got in your life is an expression of your level of awareness (Bob Proctor) and when you change your level of awareness, everything starts to shift. It's fascinating. Today's podcast I'm going to share how my awareness expanded as I began researching for an upcoming interview and what's absolutely amazing about this experience, is that “once the mind has been expanded, it will never go back to its original state. Awareness is not something you lose.” (Bob Proctor). On this episode we will cover: ✔︎ Why lifelong learning is important for expanding our levels of awareness. ✔︎ What we all should know about dreaming and the brain. ✔︎ Review of our sleep cycle and REM sleep. ✔︎ Tips for remembering our dreams. ✔︎ Opening our mind up for new ways to improve creativity, business ideas, and sports training with our dream world. For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new here, I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator, with a passion for learning, understanding difficult concepts, and breaking them down so that we can all use and apply the most current research to improve our productivity and results in our schools, sports environments, and modern workplaces. On today's EPISODE #211, “The Neuroscience of Dreams: Expanding Our Self-Awareness” I'm going to cover how an understanding of neuroscience connected to our dreams, could open up doors of possibility in our lives. This topic is not one that I was planning on covering, but as my awareness expanded while researching for an upcoming interview, I thought back to when some other topics that many people perceived as “weird”, are now readily accepted in our schools and workplaces, and perhaps, as new research and studies evolve, this topic could provide us with a new way of creative problem solving, or ways to generate new ideas in the business world, or even a new tool for mental rehearsal in the sports world. Before we get into this episode, I do want to start out by thanking you, the listener for tuning in. While writing this episode, I woke up to an email from Anuj Agarwal, the founder of Feedspot, who ranks podcasts based on content, followers, and traffic, letting me know that we had made ranking for The Best 30 Neuroscience Podcasts.[i] For those who have listened to our earlier episodes, you'll know that I didn't set out to go in this direction of Neuroscience, (it wasn't even on my roadmap) but we ended up here by chance, when an educator urged me to go in this direction almost 10 years ago.  So to hit this achievement, in a relatively new field of study for me, without a background in science (other than the fact I did teach 9th grade Biology for a semester), it's a true honor, and I'm beyond grateful to continue to host this podcast, and that you are finding these episodes as helpful as I am. This is the reason why I thought about launching this podcast in the first place—to show that anyone can learn and apply these skills, backed by science, whether you have a science degree or not. This cutting-edge research is important for all of us to know, understand and apply and I'll be researching in this field anyway, so I figured, I might as well share what I'm learning on this platform. With our analytics, I can see where listeners are tuning in from by Country, and do appreciate all the messages you send to me on social media, letting me know that you listen and what you are learning.  I can now put some faces to the downloads, as I got to recently meet Sarah Eaton, from Queensland, Australia, who works with the Australian Government, and Ellie Mercado from Ossining, NY working in the field of education with social and emotional learning among many others who tag me on posts, and let me know this information is helpful and important. We do have a Facebook Group[ii], if you do want to stay connected to others around the globe as well. Moving on now to this week's episode, and Brain Fact Friday, where I want to make a connection to an upcoming interview later next week, but in the meantime, I hope this episode will help us to expand our level of awareness when it comes to our dreams.  My mentor, the late Bob Proctor (who I know I talk about often) was always saying “Stop looking at life through the keyhole. Open up the door and expand your level of awareness”[iii] by changing your paradigms. You can go back to episode 66 and 67[iv] to review the importance of changing our paradigms to break through to new levels of awareness, that will help us to reach new heights in our personal and professional lives, which is what happened to me while preparing for an upcoming interview.  I noticed that some of my paradigms, or beliefs started to change, as I began to connect the science to what I was learning, expanding my awareness in a way that it will never be the same again.   As you can see from past episodes, it is very important to me to stick to the most current neuroscience research with this podcast, and I do aim to steer clear of pseduoscience, and fads, but pick topics to help make a difference for us in our modern workplaces, whether it's through the science of reading, or productivity, and this time, my paradigm or beliefs were challenged. Which is what learning is all about. I was introduced to Dr. Baland Jalal's work from his team, who emailed me his Harvard Bio[v], letting me know his field of research and the topics we could cover on the podcast. I wrote back immediately, as I saw Harvard, neuroscience, researcher connected to sleep, and Dr. Rama 2011, TIME Magazine 100 most influential people in the world. (I've heard Dr. Jalal use the short form of his name, so I'll take the easier way out here as I don't think I'll get it right even with some practice). Even though I read the email intro quickly, I knew Dr. Jaland was someone I wanted to learn more about, especially as we covered the importance of sleep on many previous episodes, and dreams on EPISODE #104[vi] with Sleep Scientist Antonio Zadra and his book When Your Brain Dreams: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep, but I had no idea that Dr. Jalal's work was going to open up my level of awareness to where it had never been before, allowing me to cover some topics that I normally would think of as “too weird” for this podcast, and in turn, change some of my beliefs around sleep.   Dr. Jalal says that “dreams are one of the great mysteries of science. In their bizarre complexity they can reveal deeper truths about who you are at the most basic level. Keep on dreaming.” So now my mind is opening up and I wonder: Why do we dream what we dream? What's happening in our brain when we are dreaming? What's the purpose of dreaming: are there things we could learn from our dreams? Mathew Walker, the author of Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams covers these questions on his podcast[vii] and he has said “perhaps it was not time that heals all wounds, but rather time spent in dream sleep” which is REM sleep, and this made me think: What else could I learn about dreams, to open up new levels of awareness, new insights maybe that could help increase peace and understanding in my world that I could share with you to do the same? What could we learn from Dr. Jalal's work on sleep paralysis as the "top-rated expert in sleep paralysis in the world?" And what is sleep paralysis? Could learning more about our dreams expand our thinking, like Proctor would say, helping us to see the world in a different way, instead of just peering through the keyhole, with a limited view? After all, it was Proctor who taught me to log my dreams (he taught me to write them down the minute I would wake up) and I've been doing this since 1999, (off and on), and although I thought I knew what dreams were all about, when I began researching Dr. Jalal's work, I realized just how little I really knew about dreams. What about you? I know we all know how important our sleep is, but for something we spend 1/3 of our life doing, (sleeping) Baland-1how much thought do you put into your dreams? Other than writing down my dreams, and glancing at them from time to time to learn common themes, lessons, or ideas, this is an area that I think I could explore more with.   Is there something I'm missing with this time? Could I learn something about my dreams, or use this “dream-time” to my advantage in a way that I could improve the other 2/3 of my life? Mathew Walker, calls sleep “our superpower”[viii] and reminds us how important sleep is for learning, memory and productivity, and that “when we wake up, we are (actually) wiser” and that “it's not time that heals all wounds, but time spent in dreams that provides emotional convalescence.” (Matt Walker, Podcast 3 on DREAMS).   What's your experience with dreams? Are you too busy to even think about them? If you do—do you remember them? Do you know why we forget them? Have you ever had this weird feeling that you were paralyzed and couldn't move while sleeping? Have you ever had visions of places you've never been while dreaming and wondered what they are? Are they real, or imagined? The Stages of Sleep and REM Sleep: We will dive deep into these questions on our interview with Dr. Baland Jalal, but in the meantime, I wanted to give you something to think about to expand our awareness and get us thinking about dreams until then to prime our brain for what we will learn, and this begins with a quick review of what our sleep cycles look like. I never really thought about improving my sleep cycle until I reviewed the Fisher Wallace medical device on EPISODE 120[ix] but did you know that we have sleep cycles (about 5 of them that last about 90 minutes if we are sleeping 8 hours). Stage 4, our REM sleep or where our dreams occur happens at the end of each sleep cycle and is the longest in the last sleep cycle right before we wake up. We are dreaming all night, but “95% of our dreams we don't remember when we wake up” (Dr. Jalal) because “we need serotonin to transfer them to our long-term memory”[x] Did you know: When we are in REM sleep (and dreaming) that our body is paralyzed? What part of the brain controls this paralysis and Why it's important that we don't move in REM sleep? SLEEP PARALYSIS: Until researching Dr. Jalal, I didn't know that we were paralyzed in REM sleep, but I also have FELT sleep paralysis before. I just didn't know there was a name for it. Then I heard Dr. Jalal's explanation of sleep paralysis[xi], (and he described it exactly as I experienced it) and I would have to say this is not something I would ever admit I've felt. You know, it's one of those things you'd rather leave out when someone says “hey, how did you sleep” and you've had an experience like this, I'd personally rather skip this conversation and just say “oh it was great” with that look on my face that will tell you there was nothing great about i. It's got to be one of the weirdest experiences, but Dr. Jalal explains what is happening, the importance of our brain paralyzing our body during sleep, and connecting our brain to this “weird” phenomenon that expanded my awareness to what else I could learn about dreaming and REM state. I also thought, if I had this experience, and so did Dr. Jalal, and then the guy interviewing him on the podcast I was watching, Ranveer,[xii] also had the same experience, how many other people listening could relate, and learn something new with this new angle of the neuroscience of sleep. To make the most out of our upcoming interview with Dr. Jalal, I encourage you to learn more about your sleep to expand your level of awareness. Do you know how much sleep you get? Do you know how much time you spend in REM sleep each night? Do you remember your dreams? To remember your dreams so that you can gain deeper levels of insight about yourself, here are some suggestions: Make an intention that you will remember what you were dreaming about when you wake up. This might take some time, but with focused effort, see what happens. Wake up, and write down your dream immediately, or you will forget. Either write them down on a notepad beside your bed, or on your phone. Start looking for patterns in your dreams. Before our interview with Dr. Jalal, later next week, we will dive deeper into lucid dreaming, or “knowing you are dreaming while you are dreaming”[xiii] to see what fMRI scans reveal about our ability to control our dreams, interact with people in our dreams, and even travel to a different location within our dreams. All of this is fascinating, as science now steps in to validate some of the practices that many of us have heard of over the years, and brings light to what exactly is happening when we wake up, and wonder “what on the earth just happened?!” My goal with these episodes are to take what I would have once thought of as the weirdest experiences I've ever had while sleeping, and demystify them with brain science. Of course, I'm going to ask Dr. Jalal to share his insights and research with us, so we can learn what might be of importance to think about with our dream time, and how this new awareness could be of benefit to us in the future. I'm hoping that he can shed some light on what we can learn from our dreams that we can take into the 2/3 of our waking hours, that could improve our creativity, performance and results. To close out this episode and review this week's Brain Fact Friday: DID YOU KNOW: “that dreams can reveal deeper truths about who you are at the most basic level?” (Dr. Baland Jalal). I hope this episode expanded your awareness like it did mine about the possibilities that our dreams could provide for us in the future. See you next week as we dive into our brain, stress and the workplace, and our upcoming interview with Dr. Jalal to open up our awareness in ways that science will show us that there are many benefits to keep on dreaming! Have a good weekend. REFERENCES: [i] https://blog.feedspot.com/neuroscience_podcasts/ [ii] https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697/ [iii] How to Shift Your Paradigm by Bob Proctor Published on YouTube July 26, 2019  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWL0w9-oiqg [iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #67 on “Expanding Your Awareness with Lessons Learning from Bob Proctor's Seminars” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expanding-your-awareness-with-a-deep-dive-into-bob-proctors-most-powerful-seminars/ [v] Dr. Baland Jalal https://psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/baland-jalal [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/ [vii] The Mathew Walker Podcast https://themattwalkerpodcast.buzzsprout.com/ [viii] Sleep is your superpower TED 2019 by Mathew Walker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH-MGqokk_Y [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #120 “Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Medical Device for Anxiety, Depression, Sleep and Stress Management”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ [x] The Neuroscience of Dreams by Dr. Baland Jalal Published on YouTube Feb.13, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBL-51kIkc [xi] Happy Hour Podcast Why is Sleep Paralysis Always Scary? Published on YouTube June 21, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eisGABFcn9w [xii] The Ranveer Show Published on YouTube July 30, 2021 Neuroscientist Explains Scary Secrets of Your Brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ_7h-OijAQ&t=24s [xiii] How Lucid Dreaming Works Published on YouTube Jan. 21, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH-MGqokk_Y  

Antonio Zadra, sleep scientist and dream explorer, joins me to talk about the importance of backcountry hiking, the value of dreams, and the multilayered nature of reality.Want to help Cassettes grow? Become a patron at patreon.com/cassettespodcast and get full-length episodes with double the content, 48 hours early.Follow Cassettes on...Instagram: @cassettespodcastTwitter: @cassettes_podSpecial thanks to Chris Maier, who did the music. Find him here.GUEST LINKSAntonio's Psyche articleAntonio's Twitter: @drzdreamsAntonio's website: antoniozadra.comAntonio's books: When Brains Dream, The DreamkeepersTHINGS WE MENTIONEDCollective unconscious, Carl JungHard problem of consciousnessThreat simulation theory, Antti Revonsuo★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Welcome back, to a BONUS Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning episode that I want to dedicate to YOU, the listener. It took this podcast a bit over 2 years to hit the 100k download milestone, and like any goal we have (whether a sales goal or something you want to do, it might seem so far off, you wonder how you'll ever get there). If you are reading these notes on iTunes, click here to see all images. In February of this year, when we hit the 50k mark, it wasn't hard to project the download numbers and guess when we would hit this milestone, but it still seemed like a moonshot goal, difficult to imagine, and August (when we projected, we would hit this goal) seemed so far away. Do you know what I mean? Do you have something you are working on where the gap from you are now and where you are going seems like an impossible goal? Even when you have the belief?  Even when the evidence is there? I could hear how the episodes were helping people around the world thanks to the messages you sent me, but a part of me had just an ounce of disbelief, and I thought “is this really happening?” wondering if the momentum would continue to build. But the numbers never lie. They kept going up, and each month, we would surpass our monthly goal target. This weekend, while away with the family in Long Beach, CA, I look out of the window and can see the Legendary Queen Mary Ship[i] in the port as I watch our statistics graph project upwards (see image in the show notes) as we break records with our monthly downloads since launching, and surpass the 100k download mark, with the next milestone on our list to hit 1 million downloads which seems much more difficult but yet not impossible as we break this down into smaller targets. The Queen Mary ship is a symbolic metaphor to look at this weekend as “This iconic ship is now a floating museum, and tourist attraction.”[ii]  Sadly, the hotel is currently closed but my husband had an opportunity to stay on the ship on one of his work trips, and he took me on a tour on FaceTime, where I asked him to show me all of the rooms that had mystery and intrigue surrounding them. If you are like me, and love a good ghost story, look up the history of The Queen Mary that was named one of the “Top 10 most haunted places on earth”[iii] and look up the story of Stateroom 340B. The scariest thing we noticed was that there was no room 340B. Where it should have been, it was boarded up and no longer accessible for the public, unless things have changed, but we might not ever know this, as we mentioned this spooky hotel is currently closed to the public due to COVID-19. The Queen Mary's Stateroom 340B was boarded up.  The Queen Mary Hotel Rooms, just no 340B Stateroom.  Andrea Samadi standing in front of the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.  This retired British ocean liner sailed on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 from Southampton, a port city on England's south coast, just 2 hours from where I lived in England before my parents immigrated to Canada.  On the Queen Mary Ship's website, I saw a quote written by King George V that made me think about anything new that goes out into the world. When you're create something out of nothing, like The Queen Mary before it was named, was known only as “Hull #534”[iv] which was the yard number where it was being built. Whatever it is that you are creating, the hope is that it makes an impact within your local community, rippling that impact throughout your state, country, nation, and eventually throughout the world. Listen to this quote and think about whatever it is that you are creating and I hope it energizes you, like it did for me. "Today we come to the happy task of sending on her way the stateliest ship now in being. It has been the nation's will that she should be completed, and today we can send her forth no longer a number on the books, but a ship with a name in the world, alive with beauty, energy and strength! May her life among great waters spread friendship among the nations!"[v] – King George V on the Queen Mary launch The Queen Mary Heritage Foundation is now developing a museum and educational facility to preserve and enhance the ship's remarkable story” and is an incredible reminder for all of us building our own Queen Mary Vision. This weekend, as I was walking around Long Beach, where we were staying for our daughter's gymnastics training, I was speaking with Julianne, another gymnastics Mom, who shared with me that Winston Churchill was on board the Queen Mary, 3 times, and along with this new knowledge that I just love learning, I also thought about how the Queen Mary spread “friendships” across the nations, and as I walked with my new friend in Long Beach,  thought about how new ideas really do bring people together, and make the world a smaller place. Winston Churchill on the Queen Mary Reference: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/420453315192219227/  My vision for this podcast has always been to make some sort of lasting shift with education (with the implementation of simple neuroscience connected to social and emotional learning) and the history of The Queen Mary Ship reminds me that nothing happens overnight, without hard work and dedication. Looking out of the window at the ship was nothing compared to standing right next to it. I'll post the images in the show notes but had to include this metaphor to show you that whatever you are working on can have a global impact, and it just takes one person (like you) to begin and create something.  As long as the numbers continue to trend upwards on this podcast,  I'll keep putting in the effort behind each episode and really am grateful for the opportunity to host this show and share everything I'm learning in this new field of educational neuroscience with you.  So, this 100,000th download episode is dedicated to you, the listener. I want to thank you for tuning in and sharing with me how you are using this understanding of simple neuroscience in your schools, workplaces, and personal lives. It does help when you send me messages on social media or tag me when an episode is useful. Also, a sincere thank you to all the incredible guests who gave up their time to share their knowledge, ideas, and strategies with us, giving back in such a generous manner.  Sleep scientist Antonio Zadra from episode #104[vi] said it best as he mentioned “of course it's the listeners who decide such things” when we hit the 90k mark, and that's when I realized that the key to long-term success in anything is to “find a need and fill it” as Norman Vincent Peale quoted and I think of the entrepreneurs I've met over the years who have used this motto to guide them.  Here's The Top 4 Lessons Learned from Launching This Podcast to See if These Ideas Can Help You With Your Goals “Where There is No Vision, The People Will Perish”[vii] (Proverbs 29:18) Even if your vision is shaky in the beginning, keep going! When we launched the podcast in June 2019, with a need in mind, I wasn't sure if this idea would take off. With any goal, being able to see where you are going is important and following the tips of those who've already achieved what you want to do is important. On our 50k milestone episode[viii] I talk about Lewis Howes from the School of Greatness Podcast[ix] who said ‘I built up my podcast through consistently providing quality valuable content and constantly being open to my own growth without being attached to the end result.” So we use this model of providing quality valuable content, keeping an eye on the downloads, remembering to not be “attached to the end result” but to just keep moving forward and applying what we are learning. There Will Be Problems and Challenges  I remind myself with other great stories, not to forget that with any worthwhile goal, there will be challenges. Presidential historian Doug Wead[x] said it often. “When you get up and do something, there will be problems” and this comes with the territory of taking action with big goals. The history of the Queen Mary reinforced this idea as although the Queen Mary attracted elite passengers, it was the government that kept her afloat.  “With the onset of the worldwide Great Depression, construction on the Queen Mary came to an abrupt halt. Eager to spur on the sluggish economy, the British government agreed to give a loan that would allow construction on ship #534 to continue, but only if Cunard and White Star would merge. (Like Cunard, White Star—famous as the owner of the ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic—had fallen on hard times.) In 1934, the new Cunard-White Star Line was born, and construction on the ship immediately resumed.”[xi] Nothing worthwhile comes without problems. Anticipate problems and challenges. I remember my first interview for the podcast with Ron Hall[xii] from Valley Day school where for some reason we couldn't figure out why we couldn't hear each other. After trying every possible setting on his end, we found the problem on my end, and thank goodness we didn't give up on that interview. It was a powerful one connecting me to many other speakers in the future. Problems will be unexpected, and they will keep coming---I think to see how dedicated you are to your vision. Will you give up at the slightest challenge, or find a way forward? Be Consistent and Relevant to Your Listeners.  I've mentioned that as long as the interest in these episodes continues, I'll continue to research, learn new ideas in this field, and produce content, with the hopes that it can help you to sharpen your saw with the understanding of how our brain impacts our learning, results and productivity, with this understanding of neuroscience made simple. I watch the numbers for each episode and know what parts of the world are listening. Thank you for keeping me in the top 100 iTunes Charts in the US, Great Britain, Canada, Finland, Australia, Russia, Spain, Mexico, Ireland and many others where we come in and out of the charts.   Being Transparent with My Own Learning  This year, I noticed that as I'm diving deeper into this content, that the more I'm learning, the more I realize just how little I know. But with each interview, each strategy can be gleaned and applied for an improved life. I know that the topic of neuroscience could seem intimidating especially when most of us have not studied this at school, but I hope that by being open with places it overwhelmed me, helps you to be patient with your own learning. Rome wasn't built in a day, and some ideas and concepts might take a few listens to sink in. I still go back and listen to some episodes on topics I'm struggling with and learn something new, and I hope this transparency reassures you that we can all learn anything, I really believe that, if we take the time to learn and apply it. Life really is about pushing ourselves to grow and learn from the lessons we experience along the way. If you look in the show notes, I have a METACOGNITION graphic that I created (adapted Dr. Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman's Spectrum of Human Consciousness Model) that shows how learning takes place in the brain, and we will dive deeper into How Learning Works[xiii] this week with Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey and John Almarode's new book but understanding how our brain adapts to learning something new, until we hit those Aha! Moments is important. When we learn something new, we go through different stages on the way to metacognition, where we are aware and in control of our knowledge. It begins with Instinctive Learning, where we study and learn with curiosity and desire. We experience positive emotions when we attain success. Next, we move to Habitual Learning, where we form study habits. It is very important we develop proper study habits or else we will only get by until the work becomes challenging. Intentional Learning is where we will spend most of our logic, reason, and attention when solving mental problems. The challenge here is that we are working with our short-term working memory, which contains limited information. It is easy to get distracted at this level of awareness. Worries, fears, and doubts also operate at this level and can interfere with decision-making strategies. We must learn strategies to move forward in spite of fear and focus on the positive side of situations, taking a proactive approach to learning, instead of giving up at the first signs of a challenge. Finally, we arrive at Creative Learning, where all of the magic happens for decision making and goal setting. This process is strenuous on the brain and requires frequent brain breaks to reset our neurochemistry. We must have strategies for practice, study, and learning and be able to find a way to relax their brain and body. During these resting states, remarkable activity takes place, allowing the brain to creatively solve problems. When creativity is integrated with logic and reason, research shows we can solve conflicts and improve academic success. Metacognition occurs when we are aware and in control of the knowledge we are learning. When we reach this level, we begin to have “Aha!” experiences, where we gain insight what we are learning. This is the true magic of the learning process and proves that with the right strategy in place, but eliminating all distractions, we can all learn anything. Thank you again and stay tuned for our new episodes this week. We have Chrissy Barth on High Performance Fuel for Athletes and as I mentioned, 2 returning guests, Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, with John Almarode on their new book How Learning Works, that explains the science behind how we learn. Next month we are looking forward to diving deeper with American psychologist and Chief of Stanford's Addiction and Medicine Clinic, Dr. Anna Lembke on her new book Dopamine Nation, and the following month, will finally get to speak with Dr. Bruce Perry on his new book with Oprah, What Happened to You that discusses conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing. Stay tuned and thank you for helping us to achieve this milestone!  FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  RESOURCES: See past episodes here https://www.achieveit360.com/episodes/  11 Facts About the RMS Queen Mary by Kim O'Connell June 8, 2018  https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/544591/facts-about-rms-queen-mary REFERENCES: [i] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary [ii] https://www.queenmary.com/history/ [iii] https://www.queenmary.com/hotel/rooms/b340/ [iv] "Four-Leaf Clover Propeller to Drive Giant Liner 534". [v] https://www.queenmary.com/history/ [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Sleep Scientist Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/ [vii] The Bible King James Version https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2029%3A18&version=KJV [viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #109 “Achieving Quantum Leap Results Using Price Pritchett's You Squared Book” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/achieving-quantum-leap-results-using-price-pritchetts-you-squared-principles/ [ix] https://lewishowes.com/sogpodcast/ [x] www.dougwead.com [xi] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary [xii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/interview-with-ron-hall-valley-day-school-on-launching-your-neuroeducational-program/ [xiii] How Learning Works: A Playbook by John Almarode, (James Madison University, Douglas Fisher (San Diego State University) and Nancy Frey (San Diego State University). https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/how-learning-works/book279410#description  

In When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep (W. W. Norton, 2021), psychologist Dr. Antonio Zadra and neuroscientist Dr. Robert Stickgold offer a fascinating survey of the biological and psychological bases of dreams and dreaming. The authors address head-on fundamental questions such as why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? As part of their synthesis, Zadra and Stickgold introduce a new conceptual model of dream function, NEXTUP (Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities). This model can help readers and scientists to understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream also explores the history of psychological, neuroscientific, and psychoanalytic dream research, examines a host of dream-related disorders, and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Dr. Robert Stickold is a full professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A sleep researcher, his work focuses on the relationship between sleep and learning. His articles in the popular press are intended to illustrate the dangers of sleep deprivation. Dr. Antonio Zadra is full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal, and is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, as well as a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse. His research covers a wide range of topics on the psychology of dreaming, including parasomnias, somnambulism, interactions with personality and well-being, and consciousness. Dr. John Griffiths (@neurodidact) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and Head of Whole Brain Modelling at the CAMH Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics. His research group (grifflab.com) works at the intersection of computational neuroscience and neuroimaging, building simulations of human brain activity aimed at improving the understanding and treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurological illness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/neuroscience

In When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep (W. W. Norton, 2021), psychologist Dr. Antonio Zadra and neuroscientist Dr. Robert Stickgold offer a fascinating survey of the biological and psychological bases of dreams and dreaming. The authors address head-on fundamental questions such as why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? As part of their synthesis, Zadra and Stickgold introduce a new conceptual model of dream function, NEXTUP (Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities). This model can help readers and scientists to understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream also explores the history of psychological, neuroscientific, and psychoanalytic dream research, examines a host of dream-related disorders, and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Dr. Robert Stickold is a full professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A sleep researcher, his work focuses on the relationship between sleep and learning. His articles in the popular press are intended to illustrate the dangers of sleep deprivation. Dr. Antonio Zadra is full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal, and is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, as well as a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse. His research covers a wide range of topics on the psychology of dreaming, including parasomnias, somnambulism, interactions with personality and well-being, and consciousness. Dr. John Griffiths (@neurodidact) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and Head of Whole Brain Modelling at the CAMH Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics. His research group (grifflab.com) works at the intersection of computational neuroscience and neuroimaging, building simulations of human brain activity aimed at improving the understanding and treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurological illness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

In When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep (W. W. Norton, 2021), psychologist Dr. Antonio Zadra and neuroscientist Dr. Robert Stickgold offer a fascinating survey of the biological and psychological bases of dreams and dreaming. The authors address head-on fundamental questions such as why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? As part of their synthesis, Zadra and Stickgold introduce a new conceptual model of dream function, NEXTUP (Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities). This model can help readers and scientists to understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream also explores the history of psychological, neuroscientific, and psychoanalytic dream research, examines a host of dream-related disorders, and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Dr. Robert Stickold is a full professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A sleep researcher, his work focuses on the relationship between sleep and learning. His articles in the popular press are intended to illustrate the dangers of sleep deprivation. Dr. Antonio Zadra is full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal, and is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, as well as a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse. His research covers a wide range of topics on the psychology of dreaming, including parasomnias, somnambulism, interactions with personality and well-being, and consciousness. Dr. John Griffiths (@neurodidact) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and Head of Whole Brain Modelling at the CAMH Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics. His research group (grifflab.com) works at the intersection of computational neuroscience and neuroimaging, building simulations of human brain activity aimed at improving the understanding and treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurological illness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science

In When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep (W. W. Norton, 2021), psychologist Dr. Antonio Zadra and neuroscientist Dr. Robert Stickgold offer a fascinating survey of the biological and psychological bases of dreams and dreaming. The authors address head-on fundamental questions such as why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? As part of their synthesis, Zadra and Stickgold introduce a new conceptual model of dream function, NEXTUP (Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities). This model can help readers and scientists to understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream also explores the history of psychological, neuroscientific, and psychoanalytic dream research, examines a host of dream-related disorders, and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Dr. Robert Stickold is a full professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A sleep researcher, his work focuses on the relationship between sleep and learning. His articles in the popular press are intended to illustrate the dangers of sleep deprivation. Dr. Antonio Zadra is full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal, and is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, as well as a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse. His research covers a wide range of topics on the psychology of dreaming, including parasomnias, somnambulism, interactions with personality and well-being, and consciousness. Dr. John Griffiths (@neurodidact) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and Head of Whole Brain Modelling at the CAMH Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics. His research group (grifflab.com) works at the intersection of computational neuroscience and neuroimaging, building simulations of human brain activity aimed at improving the understanding and treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurological illness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep (W. W. Norton, 2021), psychologist Dr. Antonio Zadra and neuroscientist Dr. Robert Stickgold offer a fascinating survey of the biological and psychological bases of dreams and dreaming. The authors address head-on fundamental questions such as why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? As part of their synthesis, Zadra and Stickgold introduce a new conceptual model of dream function, NEXTUP (Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities). This model can help readers and scientists to understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream also explores the history of psychological, neuroscientific, and psychoanalytic dream research, examines a host of dream-related disorders, and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Dr. Robert Stickold is a full professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A sleep researcher, his work focuses on the relationship between sleep and learning. His articles in the popular press are intended to illustrate the dangers of sleep deprivation. Dr. Antonio Zadra is full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal, and is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, as well as a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse. His research covers a wide range of topics on the psychology of dreaming, including parasomnias, somnambulism, interactions with personality and well-being, and consciousness. Dr. John Griffiths (@neurodidact) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and Head of Whole Brain Modelling at the CAMH Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics. His research group (grifflab.com) works at the intersection of computational neuroscience and neuroimaging, building simulations of human brain activity aimed at improving the understanding and treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurological illness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/medicine

In When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep (W. W. Norton, 2021), psychologist Dr. Antonio Zadra and neuroscientist Dr. Robert Stickgold offer a fascinating survey of the biological and psychological bases of dreams and dreaming. The authors address head-on fundamental questions such as why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? As part of their synthesis, Zadra and Stickgold introduce a new conceptual model of dream function, NEXTUP (Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities). This model can help readers and scientists to understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream also explores the history of psychological, neuroscientific, and psychoanalytic dream research, examines a host of dream-related disorders, and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Dr. Robert Stickold is a full professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A sleep researcher, his work focuses on the relationship between sleep and learning. His articles in the popular press are intended to illustrate the dangers of sleep deprivation. Dr. Antonio Zadra is full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal, and is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, as well as a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse. His research covers a wide range of topics on the psychology of dreaming, including parasomnias, somnambulism, interactions with personality and well-being, and consciousness. Dr. John Griffiths (@neurodidact) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and Head of Whole Brain Modelling at the CAMH Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics. His research group (grifflab.com) works at the intersection of computational neuroscience and neuroimaging, building simulations of human brain activity aimed at improving the understanding and treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurological illness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

We talk to legendary sleep researcher Robert Stickgold, and eminent dream scientist Antonio Zadra about their book When Brains Dream, and their new theory, NEXTUP an overarching framework for explaining the biological function of dreams and dreaming.

We talk to legendary sleep researcher Robert Stickgold, and eminent dream scientist Antonio Zadra about their book When Brains Dream, and their new theory, NEXTUP an overarching framework for explaining the biological function of dreams and dreaming.

Did you know? Dolphins and whales evolved the ability to have only half of their brain sleep at a time, switching from one side of the brain to the other every hour or so. Dr. Antonio Zadra is a renowned sleep scientist with an MA in experimental psychology and a PhD in clinical psychology from McGill University. He is Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal, and a researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine (CARSM). His recently released book, co-authored with Bob Stickgold, is entitled "When Brains Dream: The Science and Mystery of Sleep." Tony’s passion for the fascinating field of dream science is manifest in the way he discusses his work. He has poured his entire career into studying dreams with empirical rigor and he understands them like few other humans on the planet today. While his knowledge is extensive, he still speaks of dreams with a humility and reverence for their mysterious nature. Have you ever wondered how the brain produces the all-too-real feeling we experience in our dreams?  Have you ever thought about your dreams - what they mean or why they’re there? Come learn something about the amazing nature of the sleeping mind!==================== 0:00 Introduction1:22 Tony’s intense lucid dream at 17 years old 4:32 The origins of dream science predate Freud 10:04 Mary Calkins, the first women president of the American Psychological Association10:46 Empirical experimentation with lucid dreaming 12:31 The evolutionary reasons for sleep 16:53 Sleep’s role in memory formation and integration18:03 Why growing children need sleep19:22 The difference between dreams in REM versus Non-REM sleep23:28 In REM sleep, your dreams becomes hyper-associative 24:34 The scientific theory behind why we feel that our dreams are significant27:21 The parallels between deep sleep and psychedelic experiences 29:12 Dr. Zadra’s NEXTUP theory explains the wandering nature of dreams 31:36 “Non-REM sleep makes you smart, REM sleep makes you wise”35:45 It’s probably an evolutionary design that dreams are hard to remember 40:24 The fascinating nature of dream characters43:40 We can create entire worlds in our dreams in real-time48:33 What you can do to better remember your dreams57:58 Tony’s own lucid dreaming practice 1:01:42 Dream-sharing 1:03:45 "One Final Question"==================== References: “When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep” by Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgoldhttps://amzn.to/3fJgWHZ====================  To help make a difference, follow us for weekly episodes! Search for books by our guests on our website and sign up for the “Rising Weekly” to receive a Friday email “where we enrich episodes”.  If you believe our podcast has ever shifted your perspective, please share it with someone you know and rate us.  Thank you so much for tuning in and we welcome you back to our next episode. ==================== Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rising-laterally/id1524717120 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hbMEHVOZJVMdCZBhthTIh  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIDpt943-sihvPBxX7oXawInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/risinglaterally/Twitter: https://twitter.com/RisingLaterally

Antonio Zadra Ph.D. from the University of Montreal Ctr for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, and Co-Author of "When Brains Dream" helps us understand the experience of lucid dreams, their applications, how to have them, and what they tell us about the dreaming brain in TEDxMarinSalon Conference. For more visit: Motivating Speech | Speeches that matter motivatingspeech.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

From the earliest civilisations to the present day, humans have been fascinated by the many mysteries of dreams and dreaming. But in the 20th century, the discovery of REM sleep kickstarted a new era of scientific enquiry in dream research. We talk to sleep and dream researcher Dr Antonio Zadra about the history of dream research, from ancient ideas, to the leading modern theories of the function of dreams. Skip to sections: 1:45 Introduction 2:30 The lucid dream that inspired Dr Zadra's interest in the field 4:38 Dr Zadra's current research interests 7:05 Public perceptions of dreaming, dream interpretation 9:01 Ancient ideas: dreams as 'messages from the gods' 11:02 Dreams as results of 'bodily processes' 14:18 Why Freud's ideas were not as original as most people think 16:06 The forgotten pioneers of dream research 20:50 Jung, archetypes and dreams as collective experiences 23:21  Dream symbolism, are dream dictionaries accurate? 26:37  Is dream interpretation connected to the function of dreams? 32:14  The 20th century and the discovery of REM sleep 34:37  Why REM sleep is often associated exclusively with dreaming 37:15  An overview of modern theories of the function of dreams 37:59  Dreams as a way to solve problems 39:00 The threat-simulation theory of dreaming 40:00 Dreams as a means to simulate social interactions 41:10 Dream as spandrel's, epiphenomena 43:06 The overlap between sleep research and dream research 44:57 The overwhelming evidence to show that dreams are not random experiences 47:11 What does the future hold for dream research? This episode's guest: Dr. Antonio Zadra is currently Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal and is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine (CARSM). Together with his students and a team of collaborators, he has published over 100 research articles and book chapters on dreams and parasomnias. In addition, Dr. Zadra has given over 160 conference presentations along with dozens of invited talks, including in the United States, Canada, England, Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan. Resources: Zadra Lab:  https://antoniozadra.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrZdreams More Episodes: Transcript coming soon