Light In Your Mind: Our Brain - The Main Switchboard

Light Mind, Bright Heart

Healthy Steps for a Healthy Mind....You may ask yourself..."What are some things that I can do to feed/heal my mind/brain" .... so here are some tips for you to do every day...

Eat certified organic GREENS at each meal
Drink 3-5 litres of pure FILTERED water between meals
Walk Run Stretch Laugh Dance Smile (Fitness)
Eat Whole Foods with high nutrient value

Take High quality Multi Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs

Consume Essential Fatty Acids (Omega's from Hemp...)
Play on www.fitbrains.com
Listen to Positive Music (Classical/Jazz/World)
Meditate on the Light in Your Mind
Hug your loved Ones to Brighten Your Heart

Give and Receive Loving Massage/Bodywork

Work at what you Love

Be Creative

Aloha from one Lighthouse to another :)
Melany Dawn

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Our Brain - The Main Switchboard

Our brain is what we operate from. It is our holographic projector. It is our computer, our main switchboard. Our brain regulates our hormones, our emotions, our thoughts, our bodily functions, our experiences. Imagine if you will, a beautiful computer. I recently switched from PC to MAC and I Love this new efficient machine but any kind will do. Think of the incredible seamless hard drive, the intricate working mechanisms of wires and fine material that allow it to perform. The computer does the unimaginable at times. So do our brains. Now, I want you to consider what injury to a computer might look like. Imagine taking a baseball bat and smashing your hard drive with a good blow. You could see all the circuitry completely mangled and needing repair. I realized today that this is what happens to Our Brain - The Main Switchboard after a concussion or trauma of any kind. Our circuitry gets thrown right off. We cannot expect to operate like we used to....maybe only until we are diligent with our healing efforts. Putting the pieces back together, linking the wiring takes time. I realized today that I have to be patient with myself. I have put about 80% of my wires back but there is more work to be done. I am praying to rebuild my brain to work better than its original state. I invite you to be gentle with yourself while you are under repair. Take the time to rest and breath and trust. Call on angels to assist you....and know that you are not alone.

-Melany Dawn July 26, 2008

Living with an Angel

How do you know when you are Living with an Angel?

she will do special archangel readings for you

she will do your laundry and your ironing

she will prepare delicious, nutritious meals

she will keep the house clean

she will offer positive messages

she will hug you and rub your back and or Reiki your heart

she will dance and sing with you

she will listen and laugh when you need her

she will hold your hand while walking down the street

she will give you great advice

she will be honest and open hearted

she will believe in you

she will see your beauty

she will share her clothes with you

If you think you may be living with an angel...be gentle with her and love her with all of your heart.

Melany Dawn

Your Three-Level Brain

In a way, your brain is three brains layered together. It has three distinct parts that echo our evolutionary past. At the deepest level is the reptilian brain, or R-complex. This is the brain we inherited from our distant ancestors, long before there were human beings. This brain is home to our most primitive instincts: Reproduction, movement, the fight or flight response, and territoriality. The reptilian brain tends to be very resistant to change. Above the R-complex is the limbic system. The parts of this higher brain control learning and memory, the expression of emotions and the linking of past events to strong emotions. So when you remember a traumatic breakup with a partner many years ago and feel the anger or grief again, that is your limbic system in action. This center is also responsible for attachment and protective, loving emotions, so it might be called the source of our emotional intelligence.

Finally, at the top of the evolutionary ladder is the neocortex. This is the youngest and largest part of the brain, the seat of higher thinking, writing and language, our ability to reason and analyze, and our power to anticipate the future. These three brains perform their own specific functions, but they are also deeply interconnected, linking thought, emotion, memory, and action in complex ways that make us human. This network of nerves has the potential to make our brains agile and perceptive and our emotional lives rich and rewarding no matter how old we are. Yet often this potential is not reached, because the traumas or habits of decades damage the flow of energy between these brain centers.

Book: Your Integrated Brain

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

I found myself singing in the kitchen the other morning....I wasn't thinking of the characters of Sesame Street, but more the melody and words of the song. I began to reflect on the words "Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street" and what they meant. I then considered how from ages 4 to about 12, I watched this program so intently. I dove into the lives of Big bird, Grover and The Grouch and in some strange way, may have become like them. Neurotic, ADD and grouchy! What was my mind programmed for at that age? Was this a self-fulfilled prophecy? Do our mirror cells pick up what is on TV? Is the emerging of this song from my mouth another sign of awareness and healing? Is this old neural bundle piece of the projector reassembling itself for some greater experience?

I have been on the search since childhood... and I haven't found it yet.

Can you tell me how to Get to Sesame Street?

Melany Dawn July 29, 2008

Tribe of the Soft Hearts

A couple of months ago I decided to form a group called 'The Tribe of the Soft Hearts.' It was when I came to the realization and acceptance that I had a very soft heart and that force, fear and anger were not working for me. I listened to my chronic heart ache speak to me, asking for gentleness. She encouraged me to enter into my feminine, flowing nature. "Stop pushing, Stop trying so hard, Stop putting so much pressure on me ...... be gentle, be patient, be kind." She glows with a deep love and a deep desire for peace. She is highly sensitive, caring and nurturing. She has started to share herself with me and in this way so that I can share with other Soft Hearts. There are many of us who are saying 'Yes' to Love, gentleness and compassion. I believe this is a sweet portal to our whole healing. If you are a Soft Heart, you can join us at any time. We welcome you.

"Be the Change You Wish to See in The World" -Ghandi

Love is the Change.

-Melany Dawn SoftHeart July 27, 2008

Family of Origin

...One thing that I have learned about Love is that it never goes away. It is always there, sometimes hanging far off in the distance, but never the less, Love is there. Our family of Origin may not understand what we are going through. They may not even want to understand and that is Ok. I had to get Ok with this as I was isolating and pushing myself away. I knew that being around them during my healing would not help me because they would see who they always saw. They wanted to control my situation, sometimes with anger, without fully realizing the extent of damage. Meanwhile, I knew that I was changing and working with great determination to see my image in a brighter light. I am choosing patience and forgiveness. My family or origin may continue to see me from my dysfunction as it has been my shadow for so many years until I shift. Presently, I am choosing to be around people who have patience with me, who validate where I am at and who encourage me to take the time and gentleness with my soul and mind to get well. I pray that your family and friends see the light in you and are positive and supportive about your recovery. It is the greatest gift of all.

-Melany Dawn July 26, 2008

Characteristics of Trauma

Problems with self-regulation and Emotional Sobriety:

Trauma survivors are susceptible to swings on the emotional scale from zero to ten and back again. These swings might go from one extreme to the other bypassing intermediate stages. The intense emotional reactions of people who have experienced trauma result from a loss of neuromodulation-that is, the ability to regulate moods, which is at the core of posttraumatic stress disorder. "Traumatized people go immediately from stimulus to response without being able to first figure out what makes them so upset. They tend to experience intense fear, anxiety, anger and panic in response to even minor stimuli. This may lead them to either overreact and intimidate others, or to shut down and freeze."

(van der Kolk, van der Hart, and Burbridge 1995.)

Emotional Sobriety Tian Dayton

information on Brain Waves ... www.brainandhealth.com

....We're also in trouble when we get stuck in a certain pattern. (the chaotic attractor) For example, after injury of some kind to the brain (and that could be physical or emotional), the brain tries to stabilize itself and it purposely slows down. (For a parallel, think of yourself learning to drive - you wanted to go r-e-a-l s-l-ow to feel in control, right?). But if the brain stays that slow, if it gets "stuck" in the slower frequencies, you will have difficulty concentrating and focusing, thinking clearly, etc.
Flexibility and Resilience are key for efficient brain functioning!