WEBVTT - Wake Up the Genius Lounge in Your Brain!

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<v Speaker 1>Stay Calm as a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>to Stay Calm, your daily dose of calmness. I'm Bob Roth,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've been teaching people to meditate for fifty years,

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<v Speaker 1>helping them to stay calm under pressure, reboot and re

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<v Speaker 1>energize their lives, and basically be a happier, healthier version

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<v Speaker 1>of themselves. And now I want to help you do

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<v Speaker 1>the same. Ready, sit comfortably, take a few deep breaths,

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<v Speaker 1>and let's begin today's journey. Let's say you have a

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<v Speaker 1>big box you need to move. Now, you could wish

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<v Speaker 1>and hope that that box will move itself, or you

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<v Speaker 1>could exercise the particular muscles in your body that will

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<v Speaker 1>allow you to pick up the box and move it. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>let's say you have some problems in your life that

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<v Speaker 1>require a creative solution. Or let's say you're feeling stagnant

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<v Speaker 1>and you'd like to feel like you're growing and there's

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<v Speaker 1>more innovation creativity in your life. Well you and passively

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<v Speaker 1>sit back and just sort of wish and hope things changed,

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<v Speaker 1>or you could wake up the particular networks in your

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<v Speaker 1>brain that support creative problem solving growth. The keyword in

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<v Speaker 1>this case is networks within the brain. So I want

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<v Speaker 1>to talk a little bit about what science tells us

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<v Speaker 1>about the creative process in the brain. There are three

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<v Speaker 1>main networks in the brain that promote the creative process.

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<v Speaker 1>The first is called the executive control network, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>the part of the brain when you're focused, when you're concentrating.

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<v Speaker 1>The second part of the brain is called the default

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<v Speaker 1>mode network. Now, how did that name come about. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>scientists wanted to know what was the brain doing when

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<v Speaker 1>it was resting. It turns out that there are three

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<v Speaker 1>sub networks within the brain that are active when we're

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<v Speaker 1>not focused on a particular task. Many scientists were very

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<v Speaker 1>dismissive about what they called the default mode network. They said,

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<v Speaker 1>this is just the wandering mind, the daydreaming mind. The

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<v Speaker 1>mind is not on task, that's not being productive. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>now they have a new name for it, the imagination network.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's an even better name for it, the genius lounge.

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<v Speaker 1>When the brain isn't focused and on task and working hard,

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<v Speaker 1>it's this network where those nonlinear, subtle creative ideas can

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<v Speaker 1>bubble up to the surface. Sometimes it happens when you're

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<v Speaker 1>taking a hot shower and you go, oh, my gosh,

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<v Speaker 1>I just realized what I should do. Where you go

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<v Speaker 1>for a walk in the woods, or you're just spending

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<v Speaker 1>time with friends off task. That imagination network allows these

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<v Speaker 1>innovative ideas to come to the surface. Now there's a

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<v Speaker 1>third network called the salience network. Salience network turns the

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<v Speaker 1>imagination network on it and turns the executive control network off.

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<v Speaker 1>So now I have a creative idea. Now I've finished

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<v Speaker 1>with the creative idea that gets shut down, and now

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<v Speaker 1>I'm focused to make it happen. Stress is very destructive

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<v Speaker 1>to the creative process. And when I'm stressed, it suppresses

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<v Speaker 1>the default mode network, writer's block. I can't focus, I

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<v Speaker 1>can't concentrate. I'm distracted in a million different directions. No

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<v Speaker 1>new ideas come out of me. Recent studies on the

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<v Speaker 1>creative process on some of the most creative people in

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<v Speaker 1>the world showed their brains are hardwired differently than ours.

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<v Speaker 1>For them, there's not a wall between innovation and concentration.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a free flow of ideas back and forth so

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<v Speaker 1>that you can focus and innovate at the same time.

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<v Speaker 1>And this takes the creative process to a far higher level.

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<v Speaker 1>Then we transcend in meditation when we settle down deeply

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<v Speaker 1>to our own quiet, innermost self, That effortless process wakes

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<v Speaker 1>up the imagination network and also strengthens the executive control

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<v Speaker 1>network and the neurons or brain cells that connect together,

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<v Speaker 1>that fire together like that connectivity in meditation, they wire

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<v Speaker 1>together out of meditation. So now I'm beginning to bring

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<v Speaker 1>that innovative creative process into all my actions. Now I

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<v Speaker 1>can innovate and focus at the same time, and that

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<v Speaker 1>makes life much more satisfying. Now a takeaway. We all

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<v Speaker 1>focus a lot, concentrate a lot, we all overschedule our

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<v Speaker 1>kids lives. There's an upside to downtime. There's an upside.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a value to not always be being on task.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition to meditating, taking time out for walks to

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy nature, spending time with your kids, not on mission,

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<v Speaker 1>just quiet, huge health benefits to mind and body. So

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<v Speaker 1>schedule into your highly scheduled days downtime. All right, let's

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<v Speaker 1>end this time together doing something that I think should

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<v Speaker 1>be a feature of our everyday life, and that's appreciation

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<v Speaker 1>and gratitude. So let's take thirty seconds of quiet, thirty

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<v Speaker 1>seconds to take a break, just take a moment. It

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<v Speaker 1>turns out when we do that, it's good for our

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<v Speaker 1>health as well. I'll be right back all right. Thank

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<v Speaker 1>you for joining. This is Bob Roth. Keep calm. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening today. I hope you heard something that inspires,

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<v Speaker 1>that uplifts you and that you can incorporate into your

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<v Speaker 1>own life. Until next time, remember, meditate, be kind, and

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<v Speaker 1>be true to yourself. Hey, all of you out there,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your stories, your questions, or anything else on your mind.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>meditation Bob. You can also send me an email at

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<v Speaker 1>meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com. I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to hearing from you.