Encouragement to Daydream

I encourage you to daydream more; it sure gets the juices of your synapses flowing to your best creative self!

Grab a Pen and Paper

Keep these 13 questions in mind throughout this blog to promote a daydream to occur!

Add questions to the list as you see the correlation to your life:

1. Who was your childhood hero?
2. Who is your hero now?
3. Describe the place you most like to spend time…
4. What was the last thing you read?
5. What is the most important lesson you ever learned?
6. What is your idea of the perfect day? Be detailed as possible.
7. What is your most prized possession?
8. What would be the title of your biography?
9. If a genie granted you one wish, what would it be?
10. Whom do you most admire living or dead and why?
11. What would you like your tomb to say?
12. If you could invent something, what would it be?
13. Write 100 things you like to do before you expire.

The Brain

The human brain contains billions of neurons connected by trillions of synapses. As noted in Decode the Mind:

Neurons (rough overestimate for adults): 10^{^11}, or 100 billion

Synapses (based on 1000 per neuron estimate): 10^¹⁴, or 100 trillion

Stars (estimate for the observable universe): 7 x 10^²²; that’s 70 sextillion!

For every brain synapse (“connection”) we have, there are (at least) 700 million (700,000,000) stars somewhere out there. In other words, the number of stars per human synapse is about the number of people in Europe. Only if we count up the synapses of all the people alive (10^{^21}) do we get a number comparable to the star count.

The Neural Spark, Jose Drost-Lopez

Comparing stars to neurons is a compelling metaphor and the comparison assists to convey the unmatched complexity of the brain.

It is any wonder that we know relatively little about it?

Modern Imaging

Modern imaging techniques have revealed a significant amount about the brain’s structure – which parts of it are associated with certain functions, experiences, or disorders – knowledge remains limited about the underlying processes. The brain is a hard nut to crack, which makes it irresistible to researchers from a wide span of disciplines – from the computer scientists who want to simulate it to the neurologists who want to heal it, to the philosophers who have long–pondered the abstract concept of the mind.

Have you ever heard yourself saying, “I feel it in my gut,” or “I feel it in my heart?” Well, really, it’s the brain that is most closely associated with our sense of self.

• It’s the motherboard for our memories, moods, perceptions, decisions, and speech.
• It’s the mysterious generator of dreams and creative ideas.

This is the reason why conditions that affect the normal functioning of the brain, such as dementia, stroke, and psychosis, represent some of our biggest health fears. They can steal our humanity, ability to reminisce, reason, to be in control, and most of all, “Just be Me!”

Aging Populace

With an aging population and mental health on the rise, the human brain is receiving more attention than ever, with several nations committing many millions of dollars to research programs. These initiatives, together with advancing technologies such as machine learning, are driving new methods for modeling and studying the brain.

And this in turn, is leading to greater insights into how the brain develops and functions, to a better understanding of how diseases of the brain progress, and to the development of more treatments and strategies for keeping our brains healthy into old age.

We may never fully unravel the mysteries locked inside the brain’s slippery maze; thus, the mystery is what propels our thirst to know and the discoveries that improve our lives. “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious,” wrote Albert Einstein, one man whose brain has been admired. “It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”

To Daydream is Essential

If we allow our mind to wonder during the day, one gets the benefits of the spontaneous and creative thought, also, the possibility of an attentive response, not just the wild elaboration, but the deliberate evaluation. Meaning that if we stumble upon a good idea, we can alert the executive network to register and act upon it. Of course, an over-tired brain means once one finally gets a chance to daydream, one is likely to fall asleep.

Rest is an essential key so we can be awake to daydream. Does this make sense, is this making sense to you?

I found that when scheduling the time to allow ourselves to be inspired by turning down all electronics and building into a routine, my brain starts anticipating that opportunity and takes advantage of relaxing in order to rest and daydream about the ideal life and goals I want to achieve.

Silence is Golden

Silencing my mind and sleeping more allows my brain networks to get highly active: I get much more creativity, and reality becomes more laser focused.

Our 2nd Brian…more than a gut feeling. You don’t need a degree in neuroscience to suspect that the brain and gut are somehow connected. The feeling of “butterflies” in our stomach when we prepare to give a presentation, stress-induced stomach ulcers, emotional eating, and even our intuition showing up in the form of a “gut feeling” all provide clues that the brain and gut are talking to each other.

But the brain and gut are far more connected than most of us realize. In fact, emerging evidence is showing that the gut-brain axis is one of the most powerful relationships in our body.

Start listening to your gut and stimulate the neurons of the brain to allow the relaxation of daydreaming to make you happy today!

DO IT NOW!

Tell me what inspires you today (leave a comment below)! And join the Master Key Experience (MKE) movement of like-minded individuals on their own journeys to daydream more!