Are you focused on the right stuff?
Believe me, I know very little about the brain so if you have a Ph.D. in brainy stuff just humor me.
Apparently, we all have a RAS (Reticular Activating System), which is a part of the brain that filters information collected from our senses. Actually most data to which we are exposed does not make it through this filter, which is good considering I struggle to keep up with the few bits that do.
"The moment you consciously choose to become aware of something specific within your environment is the moment the RAS goes to work and begins filtering through anything and everything that is associated or connected to your desired intention. What all this really means is that you are consciously choosing the 16+ bits of data from the 10 million bits of possibilities within your environment, which means that you are exposing yourself to the right kinds of information that will allow you to solve your problems more effectively." (Adam Sicinski)
So what?
I find this fascinating. 16 bits of 10 million possibilities. I know there is a mechanical process here in play, but let me play with the philosophical one as well.
Intention and Information.
Consider asking yourself two questions. This may work, it may not, but let’s crank up the cerebral cylinders.
What is your intention at the macro and micro levels of your life?
“I dunno know,” is not a valid response. You do know. You do have desires, dreams, and noble tasks within. Articulating your intention may be a challenge, but well worth the effort. At least speak to yourself with sincerity and honesty. Of course intentions change in time. They dance around reality and occasionally fall into the abyss of complacency. Of course. You are human. You balance the mundane with the magical on a daily basis.
What information is most relevant to that intention?
You, of all people in time, have access to information. Hold on. Too much information may not be a good thing. Siri as your saviour and Beyonce as your ring tone is not the key to all productivity, as appealing as that may sound. Information abounds. Mundane cues to make it through the day to marvellous clues to inspire your being - all available to you today. What bits do you pluck from the chaos that is life? Miraculously, that which is important to you at a profound level will be picked up by you at the practical level.
A conversation, a connection, or a concept finds you as much as you find it.
This is not a scientific article. I am abundantly aware that I am babbling about neuroscience in ways beyond my grasp. No need to tell me that this extrapolation is not exactly correct. I get it. But I choose to muse about the power I have to control my destiny.
I am going to get my RAS in gear and see if the information that gets through to me is nourishment for my soul. I choose. I select. I filter. I will train my brain to pick up on joy, kindness, resolution, solution, and the sensationally inspirational.
Care to get your RAS in gear?