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> My best improvements came through improving my knowledge about psychology. Studying psychology gives you more cognitive resources, allowing your brain to wra

> My best improvements came through improving my knowledge about psychology. Studying psychology gives you more cognitive resources, allowing your brain to wrap itself better around certain concepts. I think it's easy for intellectual types to put too much emphasis on cognitive development and they need to be encouraged to actually develop their limbic system. The cognitive wants to get better, constantly constantly better. The limbic wants harmony. I also have had the experience of being prideful of the capacity to be emotional. Over time I've been able to gradually cede the compulsion of the cognitive to allow the limbic to do its job. It makes life much, much, much simpler, to be able to turn off the need to constantly understand everything.

Fnoord 8y ago
> The cognitive wants to get better, constantly constantly better. The limbic wants harmony. I also have had the experience of being prideful of the capacity to be emotional. Over time I've been able to gradually cede the compulsion of the cognitive to allow the limbic to do its job. It makes life much, much, much simpler, to be able to turn off the need to constantly understand everything. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: mindfulness can aid with that.
- vinceguidry 8y ago
  The technique of choice for this is catharsis. This is why watching and reading tragic media is so useful to people. It's tailor made to engage the limbic system. Watching people deal with really awful situations primes the mind to release emotional energy and engages neural pathways that aren't often active. Mindfulness is useful for when you have uncontrolled emotions flooding your forebrain and making it difficult for you to function. Forcing your mind to watch the processes as they're happening allows the forebrain to come up with novel ways to make sense of what the rest of the brain is doing. You want to release, then integrate emotion. Catharsis, then mindfulness.
  - mockingbirdy 8y ago
    Ok. I will watch Hachiko and use the resulting sentimentality to train my limbic system and its connection with my neocortex. I will try to feel something. I've heard that many people get tears while watching it, although many people don't score high on standardized psychopathy tests.
    - vinceguidry 8y ago
      You may get results out of repetition. When I was a kid, I remember reading and rereading the same books over and over again, and really getting to know the characters and the storyline. You experience each new watching / reading in a different way, bypassing the cognitive mind a little bit by not giving it as much work to do. You'll get more limbic immersion this way.
      - mockingbirdy 8y ago
        Thanks, that's a great tip although it sounds extremely boring. I spend most of my time juggling with philosophical or abstract thoughts, planning the business and working on projects. Doing something which isn't intellectually rewarding sounds like a challenge.
        vinceguidry 8y ago
        If you're looking for emotional activation, both boredom and frustration are a good ones to use. :-) I like to let any and all negative emotions I feel free reign over my mind. It can become a kind of meditation.

Fnoord 8y ago

> The cognitive wants to get better, constantly constantly better. The limbic wants harmony. I also have had the experience of being prideful of the capacity to be emotional. Over time I've been able to gradually cede the compulsion of the cognitive to allow the limbic to do its job. It makes life much, much, much simpler, to be able to turn off the need to constantly understand everything. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: mindfulness can aid with that.

vinceguidry 8y ago
The technique of choice for this is catharsis. This is why watching and reading tragic media is so useful to people. It's tailor made to engage the limbic system. Watching people deal with really awful situations primes the mind to release emotional energy and engages neural pathways that aren't often active. Mindfulness is useful for when you have uncontrolled emotions flooding your forebrain and making it difficult for you to function. Forcing your mind to watch the processes as they're happening allows the forebrain to come up with novel ways to make sense of what the rest of the brain is doing. You want to release, then integrate emotion. Catharsis, then mindfulness.
- mockingbirdy 8y ago
  Ok. I will watch Hachiko and use the resulting sentimentality to train my limbic system and its connection with my neocortex. I will try to feel something. I've heard that many people get tears while watching it, although many people don't score high on standardized psychopathy tests.
  - vinceguidry 8y ago
    You may get results out of repetition. When I was a kid, I remember reading and rereading the same books over and over again, and really getting to know the characters and the storyline. You experience each new watching / reading in a different way, bypassing the cognitive mind a little bit by not giving it as much work to do. You'll get more limbic immersion this way.
    - mockingbirdy 8y ago
      Thanks, that's a great tip although it sounds extremely boring. I spend most of my time juggling with philosophical or abstract thoughts, planning the business and working on projects. Doing something which isn't intellectually rewarding sounds like a challenge.
      - vinceguidry 8y ago
        If you're looking for emotional activation, both boredom and frustration are a good ones to use. :-) I like to let any and all negative emotions I feel free reign over my mind. It can become a kind of meditation.