THRIVING IN TIMES OF STRUGGLE

Comments? Send me a text message. Are men's and women's brains different. Yes!  The brains of men and women are more alike than they are different, but there are differences.  Not better, or worse, but different. Neuroscientists, Dr. Jeff Darling and I discusses a range of topics related to  sex differences in the brain , including;  Why it is important to study sex differences in the br...

Comments? Send me a text message. There are intriguing similarities between the way the condition of schizophrenia and a brain with a dominant left hemisphere can distort our perceptions of reality. In this episode we examine those similarities using the inspiring story of Elyn R. Saks, who tells about her lifetime struggle with schizophrenia in her wonderful book THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD.   Iain Mc...

Comments? Send me a text message. Why did the two hemispheres of our brain evolve to have such different perspectives -  such divergent ways of attending to our world?  In this episode we explore evidence that the evolution of the human brain has evolved along three axis: Bottom-to-Top; Side-to-Side; and Back-to-Front.  Each evolutionary development enhanced the capacity and complexity of a differ...

Comments? Send me a text message. In this episode I preview some of the practical ways we can begin to un-muddle our minds.  We can use our growing understanding about the different nature of our two hemispheres to re-balance the influence of our left hemisphere (LH) and our right hemisphere (RH).   Since LH dominance causes distortions of reality, we should search for strategies to control LH inf...

Comments? Send me a text message. A rose loses its "roseness" when perceived only through the Left Hemisphere perspective.  The man who mistook his wife for his hat  had trouble identifying a rose.  When Oliver Sacks presented him with a rose, Dr. P described it as "About six inches in length. A convoluted red form with a linear green attachment." He went on to observe  that th...

Comments? Send me a text message. We struggle to prevent and treat dementia because the need for researchers to publish positive results, coupled with the urge to put profits over people, leads to fraud, corruption and quackery. We end up with bad research and misguided public policy.  This podcast is a reading of a recent article of mine for 3rd Act Magazine in which I give recent examples of fra...

Comments? Send me a text message. In this episode we examine what happens to the mind when it loses the perspective of the Right Hemisphere  (RH) and is forced to rely on the Left Hemisphere's (LH)  interpretation of the world.  We will use the example of the well-known case reported by Oliver Sacks of the man who mistook his wife for his hat.  We are exploring the hemisphere hypothesis that...

Comments? Send me a text message. This new episode continues the story of Jill Bolte Taylor’s left hemisphere stroke and her life, as experienced through her Right Hemisphere. We focus on her recovery process and  restoration of the use of both hemispheres of her brain.  Although Jill Bolte Taylor found life in the silent world of her Right Hemisphere to be seductively blissful, as though she was...

Comments? Send me a text message. We are exploring the hemisphere hypothesis, which states that the two hemispheres of our brain present us with very different perspectives on what’s going on. In this episode we are going to explore what it is like to experience the world exclusively through Right Hemisphere modes of perception. What happens when people, because of disease or injury, lose use of t...

Comments? Send me a text message. We continue to explore how the two hemispheres of our brain influence us in different ways. In this episode I borrow a story from Iain McGilchrist who, in turn, borrowed it from Friedrich Nietzsche. McGilchrist uses his story - The Master and His Emissary - as the title for his book that first introduces his "hemisphere hypothesis." The two main characte...

Comments? Send me a text message. The MINDRAMP mission is to learn how to live long and live well. To live LONG, it helps to keep our brains as healthy as possible.  But what do we do to live WELL?  What do we do with our healthy brains? To live WELL, we need to effectively manage our minds in ways that minimize the negative aspects of our life, (alienation, conflict, confusion), while amplifying...

Comments? Send me a text message. Our minds become muddled with conflict and confusion when the two hemispheres of our brain fail to collaborate. The MIND OVER MUDDLE podcast series explores a range of historical and contemporary disciplines - from mysticism, to meditation, to psychedelics - that are effective when they are able to restore hemispheric balance and collaboration.  This episode intro...

Comments? Send me a text message. Why would a 74 year old man want to experiment with the psychedelic drug psilocybin? Initially, it was because of the apparent ability of psilocybin to mitigate the fear of dying and death. But, as i did more research, I discovered that psilocybin offers a number of therapeutic benefits for older adults. This episode is based on an article I wrote on psilocybin fo...

Comments? Send me a text message. Albert Garcia-Romeu does research on psychedelics at Johns Hopkins University. In this first part of our discussion I asked Al why older adults should be interested in psychedelic research. How could psychedelics help us to enjoy a more successful longevity?  We also delve into the subjective experience of a psychedelic trip. What do people taking psychedelics in...

Comments? Send me a text message. Psychedelics are mind-altering drugs. What does it mean to have your mind-altered? What is actually going on in the brain when we set off on a psychedelic trip. Johns Hopkins University researcher Albert Garcia-Romeu talks about his research into psychedelics and reviews sciences current understanding about how psychedelics improve mood, limit depression, alter ou...

Comments? Send me a text message. Medical Anthropologist Daniel R. Georg and I discuss the resurgence of research on the benefits of psychedelics.  Support the show If you want to support my work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, and updates.

Comments? Send me a text message. Dr. Judy Rubin a pioneer in the field of art therapy. In Part I of my discussion with  Dr.  Rubin, she explains how she "stumbled into" the emerging field and gradually figured out how to harness the synergistic benefits of the arts and psychotherapy.   Early in her career Judy appeared with Fred Rogers as "the arts lady" on the PBS series Mr....

Comments? Send me a text message. Judy Rubin is a pioneer in the field of art therapy, In Part 2 of my conversation, we speculate about why art can have such a profound effect on us and what the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative means for the future of art therapy. I also asked Judy to think about the aging process and to share whatever words of advice she had on how to age successfully.  She summari...

Comments? Send me a text message. Angel has a unique background that combines rigorous scientific research, psychology and the arts. She has worked on clinical trials searching for drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease and has an extensive background as an art therapist.   In this first of two podcasts with Angel, she discusses her experience practicing art therapy, particularly with people...

Comments? Send me a text message. Creative Maturity is creativity that blossoms because of age and experience. There is a pervasive myth that creativity is the domain of the young and diminishes with age. This is yet another ageist stereotype that needs to be dispelled. We discuss how creativity can be enriched by experience and the development of a full portfolio of useful routines.  We discuss t...

Comments? Send me a text message. The Great Generation benefited from a whole raft of social safety bets and social support systems that improved living conditions and overall health. As a result, even though more people were living longer, the actual percentage of older people who suffered from dementia went down! Yes. Rates of Alzheimer's and other dementias were on the decline.  But the so...

Comments? Send me a text message. In AMERICAN DEMENTIA Part 1, medical anthropologist Daniel R. George discussed how market-driven policies and practices are amplifying our vulnerability to cognitive decline and dementia. In this episode, Part 2, we focus more on potential solutions.  George makes it clear that our political and economic decisions have a profound impact on the collective health an...

Comments? Send me a text message. What are the myths of Alzheimer's discussed in Peter Whitehouse's book?  That Alzheimer's is unrelated to aging. That it is a single disease that can be "cured" by biomedical science. That it results in irretrievable lost of self and imposes inevitable despair on caregivers.   Peter J. Whitehouse, MD-PhD, is a prevention oriented, intergen...

Comments? Send me a text message. What causes dementia? Demented political and economic systems.  This is the thesis of Peter Whitehouse's new book AMERICAN DEMENTIA: BRAIN HEALTH IN AN UNHEALTHY SOCIETY.  Peter J. Whitehouse, MD-PhD, is a prevention oriented, intergenerational neurologist. His current main academic and practice focus is on ecopsychosocial models of brain health and aging and...

Comments? Send me a text message. This second podcast interview with Mario Garrett [See    ] focuses on Garrett's ideas about the social and psychological causes of dementia. In essence, he believe that our mindsets about dementia, our"isomorphic representations, can cause attitudes and behaviors that contribute to cognitive decline.  Support the show If you want to support my work, clic...