The Brain that Changes Itself

This is an amazing book!

The Brain that Changes Itself
Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science

by Norman Doidge, M.D.

The brain can change itself without operations or medications.

Chapter 1 ... A Woman Perpetually Falling ... Rescued by the Man Who Discovered the Plasticity of Our Senses

We have a sixth sense we don't often talk about but it is critically important to our well-being ... balance.  Here's one story:

Paul Bach-y-Rita, a pioneer in understanding brain plasticity worked with Cheryl Schiltz who had lost her vestibular system and her sense of balance as a side effect of gentimicin.  She is a Wobbler, as people who have this condition call themselves; she lurches as if drunken, falls down and is exhausted by trying, and failing, to keep herself balanced.

Bach-y-Rita developed a hat with a sensor that detects movement in two planes connected to a plastic strip which Cheryl places on her tongue.  The sensor fizzes in various places dependent upon the movement and she begins to walk without wobbling.  The device works but the marvel occurs when, even after the device is turned off, she is still able to balance herself.  After the first usage of the hat for two minutes, the after-effect lasts for 40 seconds.  The next time, she wore the hat for twenty minutes and they hoped for an after-effect of 7 minutes but it lasted for a full hour.  The next time, the twenty-minute usage produced an after-effect of 3 hours and 20 minutes.  The training-effect continued to expand and over the next year, Cheryl wore the device more frequently and now no longer wears it at all and no longer "wobbles."

This did not fix her vestibular system, it created an entirely new way of replacing the lost capacity.

Guardian Angel: My Angel

I close this series with my main angel ...

My Angel (center center) -- with golden wings she flies, unrestricted by mortal time and space.  She is free, graceful and golden in her nature and presence.  She is strong and solid in her self ready to protect me from anything that comes my way.  She tells me to go where I want, do what I want, to follow the yearnings of my heart and that she is always beside me, always there to give me what I need.  She reminds me that I need have no fear.  She helps me do what I came here to do.

And bringing you this wish from all of them ...

The Trail Blazer's wish for you is that you always have your North Star clearly in sight.
Wisdom Woman sends you synchronicities that remind you of the magic of the Universe.
The Dancer wishes you music that stirs your spirit and leads you into Dance.
The Twin Souls enfolds you in unconditional love and help you embrace your Shadow.
Spirit Woman surrounds you with the eternal mystery of Beauty.
Black Beauty invites you feel the deep connection with the Earth.
My Angel touches the yearning in your heart and whispers, "Fly!"

Guardian Angel: Black Beauty

Black Beauty (upper left) -- he is power, grace, freedom and acute sensitivity.  He dances with life and does not fear danger because he is fast and strong and knows he can easily outrun it.  He follows whatever calls him and loves the beauty of the earth and the feel of wind on his face.  He reminds me that I am here as a physical animal loving the connection with and beauty of the earth.  He helps me travel fast wherever I want to go.

Yesterday I was living out of my car wondering where home would be.  This morning I'm in a funky cabin on the lake listening to birds sing as I drink my morning tea.  It's funny, this was my third choice, the make-do possibility, the "just for a little while" option but it's homely charm is working on me and it feels perfect.  Last night Ryan brought my granddaughters up and we walked down to the lake and explored the boat dock where I'll keep my kayaks.  After dinner we played ping-pong in the converted garage and made "weedies" on the deck.  I didn't know what "weedies" were but they turned out to be part pine needles, multiple parts tape and the imagination of a 4-year-old.

It was a perfect first evening in my new place and I'm not sure it would have been as perfect in the spectacular house that I fell in love with.  Life, once again, is perfect and right.  Sometimes it seems like life is Black Beauty and I am riding on his back, doing my best to just hold on and enjoy the ride.

Guardian Angel: Spirit Woman

Spirit Woman (upper right) -- she sees what others can't through a mystical veil of color and beauty.  She proudly wears the gem that marks her spiritual journey and, through her deep silence, she has much to say and knows when and how to say it.  She teaches me to retreat into beauty, to hold my own mystery and explore its depths.  She helps me understand the eternal mystery and my place in the worlds of both spirit and the waking dream of reality.

On March 8, I left Colorado for what I thought would be a brief excursion into spring.   Fifteen days later, I'm sitting in a motel room in Oakhurst, CA, basically homeless and on a completely new path.  There is an old sports proverb that says you can't steal second without taking your foot off first base.  I've taken my foot off first and am now in that middle distance headed toward second, trying to watch all the players and where the ball is and be aware of any opportunities that might occur.  Adrenalin is up.  Time slows as my mind races. 

And, in this silent space of the moment, I turn to my Guardian Angels for advice.  Spirit Woman reminds me that this is a waking dream, an illusion of my own making.  It matters not which house I take ... or don't take.  I don't particularly like that advice as I have found a spectacular house that I can imagine being in for a very long time.  I can see the views of the Sierra in the distance and feel the presence of friends and family in the great room.  And, that might happen ... or it might not.  And, if it doesn't, another possibility will move forward in the dream and it will be life being perfect.  And, that is the reminder I need.  Life is perfect even when it doesn't seem so at the time.  My job is to find the perfection in each moment and honor it ... and, be grateful for it ... even if I get tagged out at second.

Guardian Angels: Twin Souls

More guardian angels:


Twin Souls (lower center) -- they are unconditional love, accepting both the light and the dark, connecting on all levels, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, feeling the force of love without boundaries and without artificial limitations.  They teach me to connect through feelings, to deeply feel the connection between all of us, to strip away the clothing and barriers that create the illusion of separation, to stand naked in my brightness and the brightness of all around me.  They remind me to connect with and love my shadow self and the shadow of others.  They help me love everyone who comes my way.

Guardian Angel: The Dancer

Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philos-
opher and social thinker who founded Anthro- posophy and the Waldorf School movement spent much of his energy trying to find a synthesis between science and mysticism; and to build a connection between the cognitive path of Western philosophy and the inner and spiritual needs of the human being.

Steiner spoke of guardian angels and other spiritual beings as a reality. Their existence, he said, is a spiritual and scientific fact that can be researched and studied by clairvoyance. One of his aims was to enable people to connect again with these spiritual beings not only for their own benefit, but also for the benefit of the other kingdom of nature and the whole destiny of the earth's evolution.  In his book Guardian Angels, Connecting with Our Spiritual Guides and Helpers, Steiner states  "... people actually only notice a small part of life.  A large part goes unnoticed, and because they do not notice it, they believe this part of life does not exist."

Several studies show that most Americans believe in angels.  A time.com article states,

Randall Balmer, chairman of the religion department at New York's Barnard College, says  "Americans live in an enchanted world," and engage in a kind of casual mysticism independent of established religious ritual, doctrine or theology. "There is," he says, a "much broader uncharted range of religious experience among the populace than we expect."

The Dancer (lower left) -- she dances through life freely and with abandon.  She is at home in her body and in the natural world.  She is sensuous, passionate and communicates her true self through her physical self with generosity and grace.  She teaches me to be more open and free and helps me honor and understand my body.  She reminds me to dance!  She helps me truly love my own body and honor the physical act of making love.

Guardian Angels: Wisdom Woman

Wikipedia says this about Guardian Angels: 

A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person. The belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout all antiquity. The concept of tutelary angels and their hierarchy was extensively developed in Christianity in the 5th century by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

The theology of angels, and tutelary spirits, has undergone many refinements since the 400s, and belief in both the East and the West is that guardian angels protect whichever person to whom God assigns them,[1] and present prayers to God on that person's behalf. The Catholic Church's calendar of saints includes a memorial for the guardian angels on October 2.

I can't say that my guardian angels were assigned to me by God because I have know way of knowing.  The ones I have chosen however came to me in their own way.  Images torn out of magazines; carried around in a box of thousands of images for years, they leaped into my consciousness while I was looking for an answer.  The more I think about the particular wisdom of each one, the more important they become. I know they are aspects of myself ... but then, if I think about things from a metaphysical point of view, isn't everything ... and aren't I an aspect of everything else?  A drop in an ocean; an ocean in a drop.

On the lower left of the image is Wisdom Woman -- she knows.  She knows herself and she knows others.  She is compassionate and strong, flexible and grounded.  She has an inner humor that bubbles over easily.  She is easy going but never loses touch with herself.  She is generous to others and also to herself.  She reminds me to honor myself and loves to find new ways to make me happy.  She brings great synchronicities into my life.