One of the best things about being an author is getting to talk to other authors – especially those writing in a similar field to you.
One of the writers I have admired for many years who has been really generous with reviews of my books is Steve Taylor.
Even more of a coincidence is that we’re both Manchester lads exploring consciousness and what it means to be human.
So I was thrilled to speak to Steve recently for my Moments of Light show on Barefoot Radio about his new book, Out of Darkness. Naturally, we covered the others too … namely The Fall, Making Time and Waking from Sleep.
Many of us go through life feeling we have much to offer but we somehow miss the mark. Our brilliance is not appreciated – our just rewards don’t seem to come our way.
Lucy Whittington has found her ‘thing’ and that’s to help others find theirs. I know how well what she does works as she nudged me up the ladder by quite a few notches in my thinking last year. My sights are not only much higher and my feeling of self-worth stronger but I am also much more confident and focused than ever nowadays.
Listen to my latest Moments of Light show on the Barefoot Broadcast to hear how you too can go about ‘finding your thing’ and fulfilling your destiny delivering what you were born to do.
I am really thrilled to have had a new logo designed by Jackie Newman of BooDesign.
The brief was to create something simple and elegant that I could use on the web, in pop up banners that summarised both what I do and what I write about.
At the same time, I took a much overdue step and renamed my company which was called Shere Solutions to Tmesis Ltd.
Shere Solutions was formed in 1996 to deliver IT and business consultancy and was not really relevant to the work I do now.
Tmesis incidentally is the only word in the English language that begins with “T” and “M” and means to put a word inside another word like “abso-blooming-lutely”.
I chose Jackie for the brief as I specifically wanted two things over and above her talent as a design – namely objectivity and elegance.
I am so pleased with the result and something very subtle that came from it … including the company banner for letterheads etc.
The main banner of “tomevans” is perhaps obvious …
… in the strapline of ‘whole brain thinking’ combined with ‘whole mind connection’, Jackie unconsciously embedded a whole stream of multiple ‘tmeses’ – OK maybe there are two words that begin with “T” and “M” if you count the plural 😉
So what we have embedded in the logo is also …
‘Brain Thinking Whole’
‘Thinking Whole Mind’
‘Connection Whole Brain’
… and another friend of mine also pointed out that Tmesis is also short for “tom he is”
One of the most amazing feats we can perform is to consciously control which parts of our brain we are using.
Once mastered, you can then put this under ‘unconscious control’ and increase your creativity several fold.
A good example of this is when you learn to ride a bike or drive a car. Once learned, you can do something else and multitask without having to give what is an amazingly complex task a second thought.
Now I should say the the whole left and right brain model is both simplistic and only serves to help us understand that we can be in different states of mind. Our left and right brain functions are caused by our state of consciousness not the generators of it and what is processed by the physical left and right are nowhere near as separate as perhaps currently thought. It is a good approximation thought to help us get our mind around what is one of the most complex structures we currently know of in the Universe – our own brains.
In simplistic terms, however, what happens is that the right brain learns a process and hands it to the left to handle automatically.
To understand how the right and left interact, do the following exercise:
Step 1: Write down the word MAGIC on a piece of paper
Step 2: Then write it down two more times
Step 3: Now write it down backwards
Step 4: Then write it down backwards two more times
Step 5: Notice how when you wrote the new word backwards for the second and third time how much you speeded up, probably copying the word you first wrote. Notice how the third time was even quicker than the second time.
Note that I haven’t purposely written it down backwards in this blog as this would spoil the effect. What is happening is something like this.
Step 1: your right brain decoded the sentence above and sent it to the left to handle
Step 2: the left brain repeated the task twice with a modicum of right brain holistic supervision
Step 3: either your right brain forms a whole picture in your mind’s eye of MAGIC backwards and then tells the left brain to write it OR your right brain gets your left brain to write each letter down and then forms the picture of it backwards – perhaps correcting itself with the position of the A and I and G and M after the first attempt
Step 4: when you repeat it, your left brain either copies what it sees on the page or uses the right brain whole image and processes the whole synthesised word
Now repeat the same exercise with the word POWER but this time do it with your eyes closed to experience the difference.
Now this might all sound a bit trivial and we perform complex actions like this every day without giving them a second thought. Just being able to do this is magical. If you really think about it, being able to comprehend that we are doing it is even more magical – and the beginning of a new level of mind control.
If you would you like to learn more about these techniques, make sure you get a copy of Tom’s new book to find out where ideas really come from and how you can make sure yours actually happen …
Research has shown that there is a connection between what we eat and how we feel. The biochemical basis of this food-mood link lies in the chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, that relay thoughts and actions along the neural pathways of the brain.
As food affects the action of these chemical messengers it can also have an impact on our mood. Nutrient choice is therefore important to support the thought process. Meal timing, portion sizes and the combination of foods, play a vital role in the regulation of mood and energy. They influence blood-sugar levels which can leave us as high as a kite one minute and scrambling through the cupboard the next, in search of a sugar fix
For this next exercise, look at how your food affects your creative performance. Like many of the exercises in this book, the benefits to be had by this approach will have an impact on other areas in your life.
Go Low Glycemic
Carbohydrates, in particular, affect our energy levels and mood. High sugar products raise blood sugar for a short period, always followed by a dip that leaves you unfocused and lethargic.
Low-glycemic carbohydrates (e.g. brown rice, pasta, vegetables), on the other hand, provide more stable energy and mood levels. Small portions of complex carbohydrate at regular intervals throughout the day will be effective in regulating energy.
Glycemic Index (GI) refers to the rate at which sugar from a particular food enters the cells of the body. Foods with a high glycemic index stimulate the pancreas to secrete insulin, quickly emptying sugar from the blood into the cells. This produces the familiar ups and downs of blood sugar and the roller coaster energy levels that go with it. Foods with a lower glycemic index do not push the pancreas to secrete so much insulin, so blood sugar tends to be steadier. Eating low GI foods and combining carbohydrate with protein and fibre will reduce the rate at which sugar empties into the cells.
You should, therefore, combine low GI carbohydrates, protein and vegetables or fruit in each meal or snack sitting. Some good examples are:
Chicken, brown rice and roasted vegetables
Salmon, couscous and greens
Wholemeal pitta with tuna and salad
Nuts and fruit
Wholemeal cereal and semi-skimmed milk with fruit
Meal Patterns
The most effective way to keep energy level even across the day is to spread your calorie need over five to six small meals, rather than the traditional three. This can help you avoid the commonly experienced mid-morning and mid-afternoon energy dips that leave you lacking concentration and focus.
Unsurprisingly, the most common time for people to visit the office vending machine is mid-afternoon, as those who have not eaten a healthy lunchtime snack are on a mission to get a sugar-fix.
Prepare some healthy snacks in the morning so that your work-flow is not interrupted when you sit down to write, and think carefully about which nutrients you select for a brain boosting breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Foods With The Best Brain Balance
Fruit such as grapefruit, apples, cherries, oranges and grapes have a lower glycemic index. Fruit has a lower GI than fruit juice, because the fibre in the fruit slows the absorption of the fruit sugar. A whole apple will therefore be more brain friendly than apple juice.
For cereals and grains, oatmeal and bran have the lowest GI. Other foods with a favourable GI include spaghetti and brown rice. Corn flakes and sugar-coated cereals have a high GI and are therefore not ideal.
Vegetables, soybeans, kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils have the lowest glycemic index of any food. White potatoes have quite a high GI so try to opt for sweet potato instead.
Finally dairy products, milk and yoghurt have a low GI, slightly higher than vegetables but lower than fruit. Plain yoghurt has a lower glycemic index than flavoured yoghurts with added sugar.
Happy foods
During the winter months we are starved of sunlight and this can lead to a reduction in the release of serotonin, an important chemical found in the brain. Serotonin is referred to as the feel good hormone and reduction in its release can lead to the development of serious seasonal depression for some, or just a dip in mood for others. Interestingly, our food intake also has an impact on the release of this hormone and tweaking our diets can lead to an improvement in mood, or halt this dip altogether.
Particular foods have a calming effect on the body that results in heightened feelings of happiness. Chocolate can have this effect as it triggers the release of serotonin and endorphins that make us feel good. Other happy foods include chicken, milk, leafy green vegetables and bananas which all contain a compound called tryptophan.
Tryptophan is an amino acid and one of the building blocks of protein. It competes for access to the central nervous system, with several other amino acids, and it is thought to increase the brain’s production of serotonin, and subsequently to elevate mood.
It is known as Nature’s Prozac.
Perky Foods
Proteins in the diet affect brain performance, either leaving us alert and productive or ready for bed. Rich foods can make us feel alert, jumpstarting the brain so we are ready for action.
Another amino acid that increases neurotransmitter activity is Tyrosine. High tyrosine foods include seafood, soy, meat, beans, tofu and eggs; eating them can leave you focused and motivated.
Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) also play a role in mood regulation. Those with low intakes of Omega 3 fatty acids have been found to be more likely to experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during the winter months. Three to six grammes of EFAs – taken in the form of food like fish, avocado, nuts or supplements – are recommended for general health and mood promotion.
Water, Water Everywhere
Drinking enough water will also make a dramatic improvement to energy levels. Aim to sip on small glasses of water throughout the day. If you don’t want to interrupt your train of thought by nipping into the kitchen to re-fill your glass, fill a litre sports drink bottle and sip one over each half of the day.
If you would you like to learn more about these techniques, make sure you get a copy of Tom’s new book to find out where ideas really come from and how you can make sure yours actually happen …
Mind Maps are useful and elegantly simple devices.
In essence, Mind Maps are simple drawings or sketches of associations you hold between things in your mind. They normally start with a central topic, either in words or even better if expressed as an image. You then draw branches off from that image of the concepts that spawn from the central image.
So if you Mind Mapped something relatively trivial like a shopping list you might have a central image of a shopping trolley and branches such as fruit & veg, household, frozen food, beer & wine, dairy and desserts. You can see what my typical shopping list is like. To make it even more memorable, you can use images of products on each branch.
What makes such a trivial Mind Map so powerful is that with a little training, you can forget to take the shopping list along, yet easily memorise all of its contents. I always Mind Map any talk I give on a single sheet of paper and am then able to reproduce all the points I want to get across without any notes or slides.
How do Mind Maps work
You can just imagine the internal dialog between the hemispheres when you are Mind Mapping.
The left brain says to the right brain, “Aha, a map! I do the map reading around here, leave this to me.”
The right brain, seeing that the left brain is busying itself in the detail says, “Great, now I can be truly creative.”
The same type of ‘dialog’ occurs when we are painting or writing or when we’re typing on a computer or using a mouse or tablet.
So most of our days are spent flipping from one hemisphere to another. It used to be thought that the structure called the corpus callosum mainly passed information between both sides of the brain. Current wisdom is that it actually suppresses one side while the other carries out a task. The map gets both sides of the brain in on the action.
Their real power is unleashed when you map associatively, i.e. using one word per branch, as this takes you off in unexpected directions and mimics our neurons’ interconnective structure.
“It is my firm belief that every brain is, by nature, a Mind Mapper! The fact that a baby learns a language is evidence confirming that it must learn by multi-sensual images and their radiating associations. I also believe that everyone contains the full set of multiple intelligences.” – Tony Buzan
Although there are many good software-based Mind Mapping tools on the market, some of the best Mind Maps are done with just coloured pens, pencils and paper. The reason for this is that some people can end up in a left brained mode simply by engaging with a computer keyboard, screen and mouse. When we have a pen or pencil in our hands not only do we use different neural pathways in our brains but the map manifests into physical, as opposed to virtual, reality. This leads to a better chance of your map leading to real world results. If however you do want use computer software, make sure you print your maps out and stick them on a notice board or wall.
“Be aware that many so-called Mind Maps are really just brain maps. Only when you engage in Whole Mind Not-thinking do you truly engage with the mind as opposed to just the brain.” – Me
When it comes to whole brain thinking, the impact of Mind Maps is explosive in the context of the creativity they seem to unleash. They are also really useful for aiding memory and brilliant for anyone studying and revising. If you do have children, my advice is to get them Mind Mapping as soon as possible.
Embedding Mind Maps in your Neurology
If you have a Mind Map you’ve already completed, you can use this visualisation to help you both remember it and to better notice serendipities linked to its contents
If you would you like to learn more about these techniques, make sure you get a copy of Tom’s new book to find out where ideas really come from and how you can make sure yours actually happen …
One of the best things about being an author is getting to talk to other authors – especially those writing in a similar field to you.
Many of us go through life feeling we have much to offer but we somehow miss the mark. Our brilliance is not appreciated – our just rewards don’t seem to come our way.
