Brain’s Sophistication is Unmatched, Nurture it!

[ 7 minute Quick-Read ]

Aristotle said, “Man is by nature the social animal”. 

And our brain is an extremely sophisticated instrument handling this. 

This brief write-up not only pursues the brain's value but also provides practical tips to preserve and respect it.   

Have you played the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors”? I have seen Japanese kids playing “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, it's a 2-minute game to decide a winner. It appears to be a chance game. But it's not. ESPN covered it in 2007, and a winner was awarded 50,000 US$ award. These winners were consistent. Confirming it's not by chance or luck. But players mastered the art of human psychology. Winners can read subtle clues into body language, analyze recent plays, and review mental state leading to educated guesses on the next move! A noted scientist has worked on our brain’s such sophisticated social abilities. 

Mathew Liberman, a noted social psychologist, and a neuroscientist has done groundbreaking research in this area. Russian lab offered him 3 million dollars to do research. He declined. He discovered a “default network” in the brain. We all human beings default to this network, in the absence of cognitive work. Even a 3-second break in mental tasks and this network glows. It glows even in newborn babies - suggesting instinctual response. Matthew called it our “social cognition center”. 

This social cognition center is a tool for communication and conversation. The conversation is a very complex phenomenon. You look into the eyes, observe a person, his demeanor, verbal intonations, body language, usage of words, and his surroundings. Your brain analyses this in real-time and supports you in the correct response. And we put this sophisticated, Earth’s most evolved instrument to a reduced level of click on social media, like, upvote, share and so on. We do suffer the consequences of such choices.   

Like, upvote, forward, and comment on social media doesn’t require a sophisticated brain network. It’s like using Laser gun for chopping onions. The results are clear. More and more social media makes people unhappy. Yes, it is supported by research. Because you are “connecting” to the people, and replacing it for “conversation”. The conversation is the need for your sophisticated brain. A large number of connections, tweets, likes, and upvotes can’t replace rich “conversation” with poor “connection”. That is the basic cause of your unhappiness. Craving for a pleasant “conversation” - a real touch with human beings, can’t be restored with bothersome “connect”! 

So how do we shift to the conversation in this hyper-connected world! 

Here are three tips to nurture your brain. 

1: Don’t click like:  

Friendfeed, an early social network invented “Like”. Facebook has just adopted it. These “Like”, “upvote”, “comment”, and “retweet” are just statistical data points. Techniques reducing users to just statistics. It’s the first poison triggering a false connection as a conversation. So stop it, and your mind will start craving for real conversation.   

2: Consolidate texting: 

More and more you text in a day and with someone, your need for real “conversation” drops. So, stop using continuous texting. If texting is essential, keep blocks of time, for example, one hour in the evening or half-an-hour in lunch-break for text. And use it as an asynchronous email service. This action will enable your brain to stop anticipating text as communication. You will engage in real conversation soon. For example, my friend uses text only on weekends. Period. A drastic step, but required. 

 

3. Hold conversation hours: 

Hold special conversation hours. Fix timings and let your network know it. For instance, I used to tell everyone to call at 0500 PM. My commute used to start at that time, and I started using my commute time for calls. If someone wishes to talk to me at length, I start calling them for lunch or coffee break. I also set special meeting hours with my students. Steve Jobs was famous to set walking hours for special intensive meetings. My one mentor, a monk - also calls me on a walk after his lunch or dinner for talk. Idea is to make it a rich conversation with explicit time allotment. 

These simple steps will cut poor “connections” and nurture sophisticated brains with what it deserves, rich “communication”. 

[This is my take/summary of chapter-5 of Cal Newport’s “Digital Minimalism”]

[You can check review/summary of chapter-4 here] 

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Wherever you go, there you are (Book review).

10 min. Quick Read

Quick Summary: 

Poetic musing of the mindfulness teacher. Any curious mind can benefit. Any Meditator can deepen his practice with these ruminations. It is sparkling, fresh, and a tingling journey in the mind of MBSR founder (MBSR: Mindfulness-based stress reduction).

Intended Audience: 

The author says it’s a brief account of mindfulness and its application. It's for anyone who practices any form of meditation or mindfulness. Book doesn’t have detailed instructions. It’s for curious minds and for those who wish to deepen their meditation practice. 

My take on Book: 

Go back and read the title “Wherever you go, there you are”. It's poetic, isn’t it? 

That’s how reading this book feels, like a poem, smooth, free-flowing from the writer's mind to readers. 

This is a 1994 published book, republished in 2005 as the 10th-anniversary edition. It is a best-seller, translated into more than 22 languages, and sold millions of copies. This doesn’t require any more persuasion to read. I found it to be a witty, warm, wise guide. A book we can carry with us, keep on the table, or bed-side and read anytime. It’s inspirational. Short, concise, and to the point. It has small chapters, some as small as half-page. Each focusing on one aspect of mindfulness. You can start from the first page and go on till last, or you can open the book at any point and read. Or go over topics, pick that interests you, and read. It will serve your needs. You can sense from the words - what mindfulness practice of life does to one. 

One more beauty of the book is sections labeled as “Try”. A small action points at the end of small chapters. A reader can try them to see its effects. 

The book is divided into three parts, following the introduction.

1. Part-I: Present Moment. The section is on deepening one’s practice. 
2. Part-II: Practice: It covers various aspects of formal practice. 
3. Part-III: Spirit of mindfulness: Here writer traces its application and his perspectives. 

Part-I 

Mindfulness is defined. It’s paying attention, with purpose, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally. Jon selects each word carefully. You can’t omit, you can’t add. It's complete. Period. 

Mindfulness is a key to look at life which unfolds in moments. He pays his respect to Buddhism from where the practice draws, but clarifies immediately, that it has nothing to do with religion. And anyone can practice irrespective of belief or faith. Jon firmly conveys mindfulness is about “non-doing” but a pathway to mastery. If you can breathe, you can practice. It's so simple, but not easy. It's practice, practice, and more practice. But this practice is not repetition or rehearsal. It is just being present in the moment. No performance, just awareness of the moment. Jon highlights his points with quotes from Nisargdatta Maharaj, Kabir, Thoreau, and many others. 

Then he goes on listing & clarifying qualities that strengthen mindfulness practice. And again highlights - one needs to cultivate these qualities. He talks about patience, non-judging, trust, generosity, voluntary simplicity, concentration, and vision. Each a pearl in itself, looped around mindfulness. 

Part-II

Mindfulness sprouted. Now Jon delves into the specific aspects of practice. He starts with a simple practice of sitting. And tells what a “dignity” in sitting is. How posture changes. He answers very mundane but common questions on how long one should meditate. He tells the practicality of 45 minutes. And immediately clarifying that even 5 minutes is good. Sincerity matters, not the length. He explains various facets of practice like mountain meditation, walking meditation, lake meditation, laying down, and even loving kindness. 

Part-III

Jon concludes in this section. He shows the spirit of mindfulness. He reflects on his personal experience as a parent, as a doctor, his relationship with patients. He talks of routine (and clarifies -there is no routine when one is mindful!) like waking early, cleaning the kitchen, sitting by the fire, And asking everyone to question regularly - what is my job on this earth. He soars the sky with enlightening topics like Ahimsa (non-violence), Karma Yoga, Wholeness, Oneness, Interconnectedness. And ruminates on “is mindfulness spiritual”. These nuggets are worth reading again-n-again. 

Finally, it is a book worth your time. You will love it, cherish it. And will pass it on to others. If you are a meditator - it will deepen your practice. If you aren’t, it will inspire you to try out. This book is going to have a permanent place in my bookshelf. 

Enchanting Quotes

• But waking up is ultimately something that each one of us can only do for ourselves. When it comes down to it, wherever you go, there you are.  
• Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at the bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.
• Mindfulness practice means that we commit fully in each moment to being present. There is no “performance.” There is just this moment. We are not trying to improve or to get anywhere else. We are not even running after special insights or visions
• You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. (Swami Satchitananda cited in the book)
• Thinking you are unable to meditate is a little like thinking you are unable to breathe or to concentrate or relax. Pretty much everybody can breathe easily. And under the right circumstances, pretty much anybody can concentrate, anybody can relax.
• Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more. It all ties in.
• Making a commitment to yourself to get up earlier than you otherwise might. Just doing it changes your life. Let that time, whatever its length, be a time of being, a time for intentional wakefulness. You don’t want to fill this time with anything other than awareness.
• Mindfulness practice is simply the ongoing discovery of the thread of interconnectedness. ..... It’s more like we become conscious of a connectedness that has been here all the time.

[ Image Source: Amazon ]

First Steps in Improving Writing!

A Quick 6 Minute Read.

Writing is a craft. 

Every craft starts at hand, goes to your arm, and reaches your brain.

So, if you want to master the art, you must write. And write a lot.

And the next logical question is how do I improve? 

Here is the first step in upgrading your writing.  

Writing involves decisions. Lots of decisions.

What word to choose, comma, colon, semicolon, or period?

What is the heading?

Is it there, their or they’re? What’s the correct spelling?

And when decisions are involved, we can learn a lot from the masters of decision science.

Decisions are studied in behavior science. 

Gary Klein, a bevaior scientist in his book "Seeing What others don't" gives us a simple formula to improve our decisions. 

Simple. Reduce errors and increase insights. I am applying this to my writing. 

I looked at my recent writings done over last week. You can also do the same.

Read them intently. Ask buddy, friend to read. Get help from professional or online tools.

Split the errors into two categories.

One technique errors and two actual activity errors in writing.

Even 3 in each category is good enough to start with. 

I use Grammarly. Grammarly sends me weekly detailed reports of my writing.

I received very minimal feedback in the writing challenge I am participating in.

But I self-appraised and came with below errors.

This will be the first step in improving my writing. 

Technique Errors: 

1. Missing articles
2. Missing comma after the introductory phase
3. Incorrect punctuation
4. Formal Tone
5. And I struggle for "appropriate words"

Activity Errors: 

1. Failing to protect from interruptions. I get distracted while writing via phone, social media, and other thoughts. That's an internal trigger.
2. Not re-reading articles loudly. This is advised as a hack to improve writing.
3. Not having a work-flow for detailed editing. Like covering content, structure, style, and presentation edit.
4. Often overlook catchy heading or hook.

It is not that what we do is everything wrong.

We learn some good things over the years.

For improvement, we need to do them consciously, and more.

I have learned the following insights in my writing craft. 

1. Convoluted sentences are bad. I have developed an eye and I remove them
2. Cohesive and consistent paragraphs. Online posts have small paragraphs, but academic writing has a longer one. I re-read academic work for paragraphs.
3. Editing, revising is more important. Add time, and space in editing. I have learned this in hard-way. Now often I write one-day and edit the next day. It forms a part of my writing schedule. Ideally one should change the space too. So if writing is done in the study-room, editing should be done in the hall. But I am not following this religiously.
4. Cut mercilessly. Strunk and white in their classic “Elements of Style” have written, “Omit needless words”. I strive for it. For example, my blog post had 4253 words, I cut it down to 3200 words. Editors suggest a 15% cut in the first draft.

For honing my writing craft, I minimize errors and pursue insights.

Do you think this will polish my writing? Do give - feedback/comment.  

This is one way I chronicle my learning journey. Did you like it? 

Please drop a word. That will encourage me to post more on my writing journey. 

[Disclaimer: It’s my take on the first session of “Good with words” - course I am taking on Coursera] 

[Image Source: Wikimedia commons].