I called the Midbrain School in El Monte, California and they are charging $3,000 for their 2 day workshop. I asked if 4.5 is old enough, they said as long as they are able to follow directions, but an “immature” 4 year old or 3 year old is probably too young from what I can tell. They said to send them an email and get on their email list to be notified of promotions/discounted workshops. That’s too rich for my blood because I know we can do it cheaper overseas.
This is kind of a loopy website, but it does mention the book in more detail. There seems to definitely be a suggestibility aspect to this. I am not against it personally ( like the article mentions I believe we are all “programmed” on some level so intentional input doesn’t bother me) but I bring it up because I know others are sensitive to this sort of thing. http://www.sacred-texts.com/nth/ssug/ssug04.htm
ETA: They originally told me “twenty nine ninety nine” on the phone, and I was a little taken back and that’s when I told her we could get it cheaper overseas. She called me back and didn’t leave a message, so I returned the call the next day and she remembered me. I said “You DID mean three thousand dollars, correct?” and then she replied yes, that she wanted to call me back and mention to sign up for possible discounts.
Maybe there was still a language barrier and I misunderstood twice? I dunno. But at $500 I would seriously consider it as we may be passing through CA in a few months, I’d try to take a side trip.
Hmm, Ashly did their free test evaluation at their clinic, and they told her the 2-day workshop was $500. There were some language problems though. I’ll talk to her again.
Oh I just wanted to add a thanks to TMT for mentioning such a fascinating book. I am so excited to read it that I feel super nerdy right now…like just put on a super hero nerd suit kind of feeling. lol
Anyway, one of the amazing things that I continue to hear (watching interviews) from most children considered to be geniuses is that they don’t feel they are any different or any smarter but that they just have a real burning passion. The question I have always pondered is “how to instil this passion in a child?” Is activating the midbrain more than just activating mental abilities or are we tapping also into an emotional connection as well.? It does appear to be that this book is about suggestion. Is suggestion part of the answer? ??? So much to ponder…
well darn, now I need to see if I can cancel my order. Thanks for the link!
ETA: This book looks really neat but I think it is different than the Mobilizing the Midbrain book, it has a different title. So if you ordered it, don’t cancel. I am really looking fwd to reading both and I am grateful for the link!
Yep I have the book, the link worked for me. Thank you. I was between reads too!
I am all for suggestion. I have used it with my kids in the past to boost self esteem and also to improve concentration in my spacey child
We have and do use alpha and theta music as well as subliminal suggestion music with good success also. I have a subliminal suggests MP3 that does amazing things to the concentration levels in my kids.
I am not sure if that is specifically anything to do with midbrain activation but it is suggestive. I am having trouble finding the line between left right and midbrain.
We use the music as background music, usually while the kids are doing home work and preferable for 10 minutes before they start their homework/ after schooling stuff. If I play it before they do piano they can focus better and learn their music faster also. The alpha and theta music can be used as relaxation or meditation but it isn’t necessary. I am sure the theta music would be much more beneficial if it was being used during rest time,( or as a meditation before sleep) rather than study time but the alpha and subliminal music can be used anytime with complete success.
I can feel it in my head as a kind of pressure behind my temples and I need to be careful not to overuse them or I get a head ache. Doesn’t seem to effect my kids or my hubby at all though. It just means I don’t hit repeat on the iPod! :biggrin: I think the alpha music is a must have in any house hold. It is retry calming and has an overall positive effect on the home and people in it.
Bella I will Dropbox it as soon as I have a minute
thanks manda , One of the therapies we did for isa to try to overcome her spasticity is neurofeedback , where her head is hooked by electrodes to a machine , to he computer ,A software is played on the computer showing brain waves , sometimes games , she will need to concentrate to bring her brain waves to alpha ot relax , she doesn’t need to use her hands , just do it in her mid and whenever she could achieve it the software will play an sound as an affirmation of her success , it is like training he brain to relax , and you can see thanks to the electrodes everything going on your brain , on the screen .
Athletes use this kind of neurofeedback and biofeedback in their training .
viv
I’ve never even considered any of this, but it’s been interesting to read! Some people mentioned Brain Gym, so I got that book out of the library. I can see why TmT said she wrote it off the first time she saw it, because it didn’t impress me much, but I’m willing to try things out. Is anyone actually doing it with a toddler? I can’t figure out how to get my 2 1/2 year old involved. Do you do one exercise at a time throughout the day?
Manda, what alpha music do you use? That sounds like it would be fun to add to our day.
I have a couple of different alpha music CDs and MP3s. The one from rightbrainkids ( tweedlewink company) is lovely to listen to.
We had a few in the house when I was growing up, mum used to play them to calm us kids down. We were pretty full on kids and there were 4 of us. She said it worked most times but sometimes she gave up and sent us down the back paddock to run it out! lol
Another one I got as a download is very good. I can tell when they are good, pressure in the brain. :blink: it is a deep alpha one that I have although the theta one is available also. The alpha one is good for study or relaxation but it will stop you from falling asleep so not so great for bedtime music. They do sell a couple of sleeping ones if you need help relaxing kids to sleep.
The alpha and theta ones tell you how many … How low the brain waves go?
Anyway this website also sells the accelerated learning music as subliminal messages and you can click through to find out what those messages are. We play one of these each day at home and then something educational in the car ( because you arnt supposed to get too relaxed while you are driving! ) http://www.innerpeacemusic.com/prod/best-selling-cds.html
Silly stories for photographic memory.
I have complained in the past that all the products available for silly story’s or memory linking don’t go far enough. They are too short, too slow and too easy to master. I also complained that it was really difficult to make your own. Gee I wine alot hey? :laugh:
Ok so I found a solution :biggrin:
When my hard drive crashed, my file recovery effort extracted ALL the image files from my computer separately to whatever content they were embedded in. So I ended up with a ( quite rediculous) large amount of pure images. Most in cartoon style. I have no idea where they all came from BUT I selected about 200 images and right clicked them then printed them ( like you would print off photos) multiple images to a page. The perfect size for us seems to be 9 to a page or wallet size. Then I just cut them up.
I spent a few days showing the cards and making up stories for my kids and now they make up their own stories for each other. They have so much fun making up stories I need to remind them to actually guess the pictures too, :biggrin:
I think ( though I haven’t tried yet) it would be quite easy to isolate just images on any computer and print of your own cards this way just by searching only for images. Or Jpeg files.
Making up silly stories seems FAR more daunting than it appears. I encourage you all to have a go at it. If I am doing the story and I just can’t think of anything fast enough to keep the flow I just put that card to the back and use the next one. My kids like them done fast and funny. They usually race each other to say the answer when we work as a group to guess. I always try to find time one on one but with three kids “guessing” 100 cards is an easy achievement and they get a kick out of doing so many. It is easy to self test yourself making up your own stories first and holding the cards upside down but don’t let your kids self test they just can’t help but peek! lol
I found the video that I saw a couple years ago that I instantly thought of when I learned about midbrain activation. I have a hard time believing that he can play video games by sound alone, we just don’t know how else to explain how a boy without eyes can “see”.
There are Pavlovian Conditioning and Instrumental Conditioning in learning. Both are recently (as of Jan 2014) shown to activate dopamine. I would say that such conditioning methods could be considered as “midbrain activation” methods—although that term is somewhat foreign to me.
That’s actually the scientific side of midbrain “activation”. I was flabbergasted to read claims about “scientifically proven” fantastical midbrain activation methods in some articles. Let’s just say that I am highly skeptical of any of those claims. If the methods actually hold water, I would like double-blind randomized trial.
Don’t get me talking about alpha-wave brain activation, etc. I can supply scientific evidence from that side too.
Oh, also… The left brain vs. right brain “difference” is a myth. Here is an article explaining why such myth won’t die. I hope I am not perceived as disrespectful, I am just stating the facts.
Thanks for the link!
I am really looking fwd to reading both and I am grateful for the link!
. Since it is free online , could somebody please send me the pdf by mail ??