THE NEUROSCIENCE OF POETRY: The words we normally speak have less power than those of poets...Freud reflected a similar sentiment a 100 years ago. The language of everyday consciousness (generated your prefrontal cortex) is filled with word-based memories, habits, and fantasies. But each time we step outside of this limited awareness, we can change, grow, and transform as we learn new strategies and develop new ways of seeing ourselves and the world. When this occurs, we enter a higher or deeper state of consciousness that is more aware, more calm, and more intuitive than the way we normally interact in the world. This is not the lizard brain that is driven by old habits and instinctual emotional reactions. It is the intuitive brain (insula, acc, broader prefrontal areas) where our innate creativity resides, where poetry is formed, and where songs burst forth in the neurologically enlightened areas of our brain. So try this exercise anytime you feel stuck, and any time you feel overjoyed: write out your problem or your insight as a poem. Youll use less words and capture more of the essence of your story. Grief, pain, and anger, when poetically framed, breaks the pattern of rumination. Youll see the beauty behind your suffering, and the actual writing of the poem expands the consciousness in your brain. Thats what our neuroscientific research has found! - Mark Waldman, Praxis Now Neuroscience Advisor
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 10:00:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015