Consider the following statement:
Humans use only about 10% of their brain capacity.
Well, as a neurotic I can tell you
That although Morgan Freeman said this sentence
With his pride that makes him a great representative,
But his statement is completely wrong.
In fact, humans use 100% of their brain power.
The brain is a highly efficient member, an energy requirement
And is fully functional.
Although fully used,
However, he suffers from excessive information.
Where the amount of information in the environment outweighs its ability to treat it well.
Evolution has resulted in a solution to over-information
Is the brain’s attention system.
Attention allows us to observe and select and direct
Computational Resources
For only part of all the information available about us.
We can consider attention as a brain leader.
Wherever attention is drawn, the rest of the brain follows.
Somewhat, he is the head of your brain.
Over the past 15 years,
I was studying the attention system of the human brain.
During all our studies, I was very interested in one question:
If the attention is really head of the brain,
Is he a good president?
Does he actually direct us?
To look into this big question, I wanted to know 3 things.
First, how does attention control our perception?
Second, why should we fail and leave us often wandering and scattered?
Thirdly, can we do something about this dispersion?
Can we train our brains to draw attention better,
And to maintain a stronger and firmer attention during our work in life?
So I wanted to give you a brief overview of how we’ll look at it,
Is a very impressive example of how we end up paying attention to its depletion,
I want to do this using this example about someone I know fairly well.
He ended up finding himself part of the group of people we work with,
For whom attention is a matter of life or death.
Consider medical personnel, firefighters, soldiers or marines.
This is the story of Capt. Jeff Davis, Captain of the Marine Corps.
And the scene I will share with you as you see
Not about his time in the battlefield.
He was actually on a bridge in Florida
Instead of looking at the landscape of nature around it to see the stunning scenery,
Notes the cold ocean breezes,
He was driving fast and determined to jump off the bridge by car.
Then he told me that it was all he had
Do not do that.
As you can see, he had just returned from Iraq, while his body was on the bridge
But his mind and attention were thousands of miles away.
He was under the influence of suffering
His mind was preoccupied with thoughts, his memories were hard,
And really fear for his future,
I am really glad that he did not commit suicide.
For as a leader he knew that he was not suffering alone
And that many of his colleagues were also suffering.
In 2008, we were partners in a project that is the first of its kind
It allows us to test and present what is called (immediate awareness training)
For active military personnel.
But before I tell you what instant consciousness is
Or results of the study,
I think it is important first to know how attention works in the brain.
So what we do in the lab
Is many studies of attention that include recording brain waves.
Where people wearing during the recording of brain waves wearing funny hats
More like swimming caps but with poles.
These electrodes capture the current electrical activity of the brain
With a time accuracy of 1 millisecond.
Allowing us to see these electrical oscillations – observed despite their accuracy – over time.
Thus, we can graphically plot the timing of brain activity.
170 milliseconds after we see the participants in the search face on the screen,
We see a very prominent and recognizable pattern of brain.
This occurs exactly at the back of the scalp,
Above the areas of the brain treating the faces.
Now this is happening with the same accuracy and speed of the brain system to monitor the faces,
So we launched a name on this component of brain waves.
Where we call (Component N170)
We use this component in many of our studies.
It allows us to see what impact attention may have on our perception.
So I want to convey to you a sense of this kind of experience
Which we actually do in the lab.
We show participants such pictures.
You are supposed to see another face and perspective interlocking with each other.
What we are doing is asking the participants
While watching a series of this type of interlaced images
To use their attention to do something.
In some experiments we ask them to focus on the face.
To make sure they do this,
Ask them to tell us whether the face is for a man or a woman by pressing a button.
In other experiments, we ask them to tell us what the other is,
Whether it is inside or outside the house.
In this way we can manipulate attention
And make sure that the participants were actually doing what we asked them.
Our assumptions about attention were as follows:
If attention is truly effective and affects perception,
It probably works as an amplifier.
What I mean is that when we focus attention on the face,
It becomes clearer and more prominent, does not it?
It can be seen more easily.
But when we focus on the other, our perception of the face is less
Because then we deal with the information of the other scene.
So what we wanted to do was look at that component in the brain waves
(N170) to see if there has been any change at all
As an indicator to guide participants to their attention
Landscape or face area,
Here is what we found.
We found that when they focus their attention on the face
The N170 component was larger.
And when they focus their attention on the view – as you can see in red – the component is smaller.
The gap you see between the blue and red lines
Fairly severe.
It tells us that attention – which was really the only thing that changed –
Since the images that the participants saw were identical in both cases,
Attention shifts perception.
It does so very quickly,
During 170 milliseconds of actually seeing the face.
During follow-up studies, we wanted to look to see what would happen,
And how we can confuse or underestimate that effect.
We expected it if people were given
Or put them in a very stressful environment,
If you share them with disturbing negative images,
Pictures of suffering and violence,
Such as you see in the news bulletin Unfortunately,
It may actually affect their attention,
This is in fact what we found.
If we present painful images while conducting this experiment,
The gap of attention shrinks, and is less intense.
So in some of our studies, we wanted to see, well great,
Not great, but are actually bad news that does this nervous pressure,
But if stress has a strong effect on attention
By external distraction,
What if we did not need external distraction,
What if we were dispersed ourselves?
To do this, we basically had to experiment
In which we can push people to “brainwashing”.
It means thinking in a variety of thoughts
While you are engaged in doing some kind of work.
The trick to driving them to a state of mind is necessarily to upset them.
So let us hope there is not much brainstorming here now.
When people are hungry, they happily generate all sorts of inner content
To occupy themselves, right?
So we invented what could be considered
One of the world’s most boring experiences,
All the participants were looking at a series of faces on the screen, one by one.
They pressed the button every time they saw the face.
Thats all about it.
Well, the only trick is that the face sometimes is upside down,
This inverse face is rarely repeated.
They were told not to press the button when the face was turned upside down.
In a short time we were able to find out that they were successfully brainwashed
Because they were pressing the button when the face upside down,
Although it can be seen to be clearly inverted.
So what we wanted to know here,
What happens when people are displaced?
And what we found
This is very similar to external pressure
External distraction in the environment,
Since internal distraction, your stray mind,
Also reduces the attention gap, and reduces its intensity.
So, what do all these studies tell us?
Tell us that attention is very strong
On the one hand influence our perception.
Although strong, it is also fragile and weak.
And things like nervousness and pressure of the mind reduce his strength.
But all this is in the context of very laboratory equipment.
What about the real world?
What about our daily lives?
what about now?
Where is your attention now?
In order to restore it, I would like to anticipate your attention
For the rest of my conversation.
are you ready?
Here is the prediction:
You will be unaware of what I say for four minutes out of the next eight minutes.
This is a challenge, so please be careful.
Now, why say so?
I will certainly assume that you will remain seated
Keep your eyes on me gently while I talk,
But studies suggest that we are reverberating,
And let our minds away from the ongoing work,
About 50% of our vigilance moments.
This may be several small trips we go,
Our special thoughts,
When this brainstorming occurs, it may cause a problem.
Now, I do not think there will be any serious consequences
While you are all sitting here today.
But imagine a military commander oblivious to four minutes of receiving military orders.
Or a judge who is unaware of four minutes of testimony.
Or a surgeon or a firefighter, unaware of any time.
The consequences in these cases may be severe.
So one of the questions we might ask
Is why we do this, why do we think so much?
Well, part of the answer is that our mind is a great expert in travel over time.
He can actually travel through time very easily.
If we think of the mind metaphorically as a music player we see it.
We can return the mind to the past
To remember events that have already occurred, right?
Or we can go quickly to the future to plan for the next thing we want to do.
Very often we fall in this mental state to travel over time to the past or the future,
We often land there unconsciously,
Most of the time without our awareness, even if we want to be careful.
Just think of the last time you were trying to read a book,
I reached the bottom of the page without any idea what the words meant, right?
This happens to us.
When this happens, when we think about it,
Without our awareness that we are doing so, there are consequences.
We make mistakes.
We miss critical information sometimes,
We have difficulty making decisions.
Worse, when we experience stress,
When we are in a moment of oppression,
Do not just remember the past when we return the mind back,
But in the past we end up contemplating events that have already taken place,
We represent it again, or regret it.
Or – under the influence of stress – may accelerate the mind
Not only to plan fruitfully,
But we end up being intimidated
Or concern about events that have not yet occurred,
And frankly it may never occur.
So at the point you might say to yourself
Well, brainstorming happens a lot.
It often happens unconsciously of us.
Under stress, even worse,
We roll our minds more forcefully and more frequently.
Is there anything we could possibly do about it?
I am happy to say that the answer is yes.
From our work, we learn
That against the compact mind and chard
Is the conscious mind.
Immediate awareness means distraction
Consciously aware of the experience we are experiencing at the moment
Without any kind of emotional response to what is happening.
While continuing to press the “Run” button,
To experience the evolution of our momentary life.
The immediate awareness is not just a perception but it is like training,
You have to embody that conscious lifestyle
In order to receive any benefits.
Many of the work we do is that we are offering people programs
Give participants a range of exercises
Which they should do daily
In order to gain more momentary awareness in their lives.
For many of the groups we work with,
The groups with severe stress, as I said, soldiers and medical personnel,
Who know that the exasperation of the mind may be truly terrible for them,
So we want to make sure that we offer them limited time constraints and very affordable
To improve training
So that they can benefit from it.
When we do that, what we can do is follow on to see what happens
Not only in their normal lives
But also when presented in the most difficult circumstances they may encounter.
Why do we want to do that?
Well, for example, we want to offer it to students by the final exam season.
Or want to offer training to accountants in the tax season.
Or soldiers or Marines during their distribution.
why is that?
Because these are the moments
Where their attention is likely to be weak
Because of nervousness and brain dysfunction.
Well these are the moments
Where we want their attention to be at its peak
So they perform well.
So what we do in our search
Is to make them undergo a series of attention tests.
We follow their attention at the beginning of a period of somewhat intense pressure
Then after two months we follow them again,
And want to see if there is a difference.
Is there any benefit from providing immediate awareness training?
Can we protect them from the lack of attention?
Which are created by extreme pressure?
Here is what we found.
During severe stress,
Unfortunately, the reality is that attention is diminishing if we do not do anything at all
People at the end of this period are worse than they were before.
But if we give them immediate awareness training, we can protect them from this.
They remain stable, although – just like other groups –
– Like other individuals in their group –
They were experiencing severe nervous pressure.
Perhaps more impressive
People would have taken our training programs
Over the course .. to move eight weeks,
They are fully committed to daily awareness-raising exercises
Which allows them to learn how to be at the moment,
Well, they actually get better over time, even though they’re under intense nervous pressure.
This last point is actually important to realize
Because what you suggest to us
Is that the immediate awareness exercises are very similar to physical exercise:
If you do not, you will not benefit.
But if she is preoccupied with the practice of instant consciousness,
The more you exercise, the greater your benefit.
I just want to go back to Captain Jeff Davis.
As I mentioned to you at the beginning,
His Marines were involved
In our first ever project to provide immediate awareness training.
They showed the same pattern, which was encouraging.
We had given them the training of instant consciousness
Just before being deployed to Iraq.
On their return, we shared Captain Davis
What he felt and considered the benefit of this program.
He said that unlike the last time,
They were much more present after this distribution.
They were alert.
They were not as emotional as before.
In some cases, they were really more sympathetic
With people who were dealing with them, and with each other.
He has said in many ways,
He felt that the immediate awareness training we had provided
Gave them a really important tool
To protect them from developing (PTSD),
But even allow it to turn into “post-traumatic growth”.
For us, it was a miracle.
It ended up that Captain Davis and I, that was almost a decade ago, in 2008,
We stayed in touch throughout all those years
He himself continued to exercise instant consciousness
On a daily basis.
Promoted to Raed.
In fact after which he retired from the Marine Corps.
Then went to get a divorce in order to remarry,
He has a child and has a master’s degree in business administration.
During all these challenges, transitions and joys in his life,
Continue to exercise instant awareness.
As fate had hoped, only a few months ago
Captain Davis suffered from a severe heart attack.
At age 46.
He ended up contacting me several weeks ago.
“I want to tell you something.
I know that the doctors who worked on my case, they saved my heart,
But the immediate awareness saved my life.
By the presence of mind that he had to stop the ambulance
Which ended up taking me to the hospital, “By himself!
The clarity of his mind allowed him to notice the fear and anxiety of the accident
But without controlling it.
He said, “For me, this was the immediate awareness”
I was pleased to hear that he was fine.
But I was really happy to see that he had turned his attention.
Changed from having a really bad president,
The attention system is about to make him jump over the bridge by car,
To the possession of another was a leader and a wonderful guide,
And saved his life.
So I want to conclude by sharing with you all my recommendations.
And here it is.
Pay attention to your attention
OK?
Pay attention to your attention,
Incorporate instant awareness training as part of your daily health kit.
In order to heal your stray mind,
And to allow your attention to be a trusted guide in your life.
thank you.
(clap)
”
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