http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbh5l0b2-0o- neuroplasticity allows unskilled people to learn and hone new skills
- when we feel our thoughts are threatened by others, we enter a defensive state
- in this state a more primitive part of our brain interferes with rational thinking
- social validation allows people to become self-aware more easily
- self-observance changes the way our brains work, strengthening rationality and emotional resilience
- when we are not self-aware our thoughts and actions are mostly impulsive
- there is no specific center of consciousness, "you" are the unity of several different circuits that may or may not be activated at different times, changing who "you" are at these times
- "will" is the drive to reduce dissonance between each of our active neural circuits
- when a person faces the paradox of wanting purpose while thinking that existence is meaningless, cognitive dissonance occurs
- we, consciousness, are equally the result of cerebral hemispheres interacting electrochemically as we are of the senses connecting our neurons to other neurons in our environment
- another persons consciousness is not external to "your own", this is a basic property of mirror neurons which allow us to understand ourselves through others
- superorganismal features are also reflected in our evolution, where our survival relied on our collective abilities
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What am I? A momentary expression of an ever-changing unity with no center. The psychological consequences of believing this allows for self-awareness without attachment to the self, increases in mental clarity, social conscience, self-regulation and being "in the moment"
- traditional tendencies to define ourselves as imaginary individualistic constants neurally wires and designs the brain towards dysfunctional processes such as compulsive labeling and the psychological need to impose expectations
- interactions that accept us for who we are without judgment are neuropsychological catalysts that wire the brain to acknowledge others and accept rationally verified belief systems without dissonance, alleviating the need for entertainment and creating cycles of constructive behavior
