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Fri 19 Jun, 2009 09:56 pm
I've a question, that bears some explaining. The question is : Has anyone else noticed that parts of the brain correlate to the movement of the body, and the sound of our voice?
Now, I know that science talks about how the brain controls the body, but this isn't exactly what I mean.
From Neuro Linguistic Programming, we learnt (or was it from an earlier field of psychology) that the way the eyes move show which part of the brain is being accessed...generally speaking, eyes up and to the right = accessing the visual creative right side of the brain, eyes up and to the left = visual memory recall, eyes down & to the right = accessing emotions etc.
I note that 'body cue' goes further, and that if you tilt your head right, you access the creative side of the brain, left, the memory recall side...and that there are meansing for forward and backward tilts, and also meaning for combinations of head tilt and eye direction.
A test that I discovered, by accident, about how we can consciously use parts of the brain was this :
- Imagine a point, a metre above your head and in front of it...'push' your brain into that point (ie imagine that your brain is located out there, in that point)....focus on it, and think of something.
- now, do the same thing, except imagine that point is behind you and a metre downwards....push your brain down there...focus on holding it there...and think of something...
The result of that last test should be that you find it difficult, if not impossible, to think in words....whereas the first test, it should have been quite easy to do so.
For the voice test, do this : Sing (any tune well known to you) and while doing so :
...now, push your mind to the front right hand side and sing
...then, push your mind to the front left and sing
...push your mind to the rear left and sing
...push your mind to the rear right and sing
...each location should produce a distinctly different voice quality to your singing.
As a further test while singing.... draw spirals in your mind. Experiment with the shapes you make...draw a sharp knife stab zig zag and sing the same song...
Large arcs in the front of the mind should sound warm...sharp cutting shapes should sound (you guessed it, sharp)...etc
Further, our language is full of hidden, mostly unacknowledged meaning that coincides with the parts of the brain we use when we feel certain emotions :
Passion : blown his top, over the top, high on life...
Love : the depths of love, from the bottom of my soul, it wells up...
Caught by surprise : that came from right field
Memory : he was left behind, nothing left but a memory, from left field
Problem solving (which is mostly creative) : you're right, that sounds right,
Shame : the depths of degradation, how low can you sink
Reticence : don't hold back
Fear : he's always looking over his shoulder,
I'm sure there's hundreds of words like this in the English language - these are ones I thought of on the spot.
If you think about the body language used - it matches the verbal language :
Passion - jumping up in the air, pumping your fists into the air
Memory - guesturing behind you
Reticence - turning away, moving backwards, tilting head back
Fear - looking over shoulder, sharp movement backwards, slow movement backwards
Caught by surprise : (I'm sure we all know the reaction)
Now look at the body language that indicates warmth : open arms? Yes the arms are open, but what else is there about the arms?...both arms are wide (indicating access to both sides of the brain), they are both in front (rather than tucked behind, indicating access to the front of the brain), and when they move they make round guestures (rather than sharp) - indicating access to all parts of the front of the brain...guestures that both arms do together (rather than one arm moving while the other stays still) - indicating that both right and left brain are working together.
Look at the guestures for Anger...can you pick which parts of the brain are being used just by the body language?
You could do the same for any emotion.
Now back to the original test of pushing your brain down and behind you...or the singing tests...which show, that we can consciously choose which parts of the brain we wish to access.
Another test I found (though I'm sure others have found it before)...as you breath...as you breath out, imagine your mind sinking lower and lower till it's in your feet (then hold it there until you breath in)...and as you breath in, imagine your mind elevating until its at the very top of your head... The affects on perspective...
I'm not sure of all the ways this can be used, but feel free to add, question, or criticise.
Further observations :
- Have you noticed that when a person lowers their head and then looks forward, they can have a look of intense focus? Tilt your head back a bit and look upwards and try and focus on a sole 'subject'... now lower your head, look up and in front of you, and focus on that subject as if it's directly in front of your eyes - focus in this position should now be much easier. I've actually been using this technique to gain much greater focus while playing sports (still refining it though)
- Have you noticed how athletes, when they win, raise their arms above their heads and look upwards? Have you ever wondered why they 'instinctively do this'? And have you noticed how it's similar to religious evangelists who raise their hands above their heads while praising God, or some forms of prayer?
- Have you ever thought of why, everyone from every culture 'hangs their head in shame'?
- Why is lowering the head submissive?
- What about having your hand as down low, but palms up? Why does that signal that you are trying to be open with nothing to hide? While having your hands up by the shoulders, palms facing forward can mean "I've nothing to hide, but not open' or a similar but slightly different guesture 'don't come any closer'? These guestures are recognised in any culture - why? (of course, my theory is that our gross movement relates to accessing different locations in our mind, which is why such guestures are universally recognised)
@vikorr,
Quote:- Have you ever thought of why, everyone from every culture 'hangs their head in shame'?
Well, these are cultural learned physical intimations.
Quote:
- Why is lowering the head submissive?
Instinctively passed down from generation to generation. When the head is lowered it's an instinctive sign where one shows vulnerability to another rational or irrationally deemed superior individual. The head down position, one is strategically placing oneself in a weaker position where one's reaction time to a physical threat is purposely (if unknowingly) hampered and the advantage is given over to the other person in the equation.
Another example is when a dog lies on its back in a submissive fashion to allow a person or another dog to pat his or her stomach or sniff around a bit.
The dog places his or herself in an intentionally vulnerable position to show respect for the other in the equation.
@vikorr,
Quote:- What about having your hand as down low, but palms up? Why does that signal that you are trying to be open with nothing to hide? While having your hands up by the shoulders, palms facing forward can mean "I've nothing to hide, but not open' or a similar but slightly different guesture 'don't come any closer'? These guestures are recognised in any culture - why? (of course, my theory is that our gross movement relates to accessing different locations in our mind, which is why such guestures are universally recognised)
This statement is absolute hyperbolic hogwash! I demand proof of a legitimate academic nature that
These guestures are recognised in any culture.... I'm refuting your statement that these are cross culturally recognized signals.
@tsarstepan,
Quote:Well, these are cultural learned physical intimations.
As a singularity that is a possible explanation.
Quote:Instinctively passed down from generation to generation.
By 'instinctively' you mean? See, you obviously don't agree - that's okay...but realise 'instinctively' doesn't deny what I'm saying.
Quote:This statement is absolute hyperbolic hogwash! I demand proof of a legitimate academic nature that These guestures are recognised in any culture.... I'm refuting your statement that these are cross culturally recognized signals.
Demand all you like. Go and ask someone from a different culture. There are universally recognised guestures accross the entire human race, and there are culturally learned on. If you disagree by stating a particular example isn't universally recognised - that's okay.
Before you comment further (and you're welcome to do so) - understand that I am little worried whether you disagree or not. Is there another purpose for me posting then?
I'm interested in this discussion/arguments, no expert but have followed various articles.
Carry on..
Movement accessing locations in your mind is the reason why ‘pretending’ to be confident, assertive, etc…results in one being confident, assertive etc " when you practice/pretend, you are changing body posture / moving...and by changing body posture/moving you are accessing the parts of the brain responsible for that particular ‘attitude’ (in this case, confidence).
It’s why if you are feeling unhappy, and you force yourself to smile, your mood lifts (you are accessing the part of the brain responsible for lightened mood)
It’s why if you are feeling anxious or angry, and you take deep breaths, you start to calm down (breathing is a movement).
It's why If you are angry with clenched fists, open your palms outwards to the person you are angry with, and it becomes much more difficult to stay angry with them.
This is also why, if you want to better understand what someone is feeling, you mimic their body language. By mimicing their body language, you are accessing similar parts in your mind.
It's why two people together displaying similar body language are in 'rapport'.
Movement accessing the mind is not just about the location and direction of your body parts (eg palms up by your side <location>, facing towards the person you are talking to <direction)... but about how it's moving - There is a distinct difference between short, sharp movements, compared to slow, languid movements...and the emotions/mindsets associated with them...
...now that last may not have come as any surprise to you, but the point is - you can feel one thing (an emotion/mindset) and alter/modify/change your emotion/mindset by changing your body language. And that should only be possible if the type of body language you display, accesses are part of your mind responsible for the mood the body language relates to.
@vikorr,
oh, oh.
wait for the film review.
bm
I'll try the singing experiment later, when I have had my dinner and changed my guitar strings.
@Cyracuz,
Cyr, in relation to the singing experiment - I've found that if you think of a point in your head, and move it around as you're singing (there's an endless array of patterns you can do with that sort of thing) it affects your singing (that's the really really basic description, lol). The stuff described in earlier post was me starting out, and basic, but I can still do that too.
<chuckles> one day I intend to study pyschology and do a thesis on this sort of stuff (though, there's a hell of a lot of other stuff that interests me too, so maybe not)
@vikorr,
Quote:- Imagine a point, ... behind you and a metre downwards....push your brain down there...focus on holding it there...and think of something...
amazing but
vikorr i can't get my brain out of my arse
ive tried mental exercise, jumping to conclusions and jogging my memory
despiteall this my singing has improved leaps and bounds especially the vibrato
@oolongteasup,
Quote:vikorr i can't get my brain out of my arse
Lol
Well, I'm learning on the go
Actually, it seems to be a side effect - my singing (which has always sucked big time) has improved out of sight (though considering I started at 'my singing sucks big time' - that's not to say it's any good, just much better than it was)
For the singing - and when you get good enough (which isn't hard to achieve) for the voice - you will notice different qualities of tonality when you hold your focus in different (general) hemispheres/areas of the brain (and move that 'point' around within that general area. My own observations - back right has a sharp rawness to it (appears to be where fear is generated), front right a flexible edge, front left a mellowness, rear left a flexible range (and for me, a higher range), bottom of course allows deeper pitches, just as the top allows higher pitches.
In reality, I don't really understand why - those are just my observations. technically I guess, if it is correct, some sort of brain scanner should be able to pick up the conscious shifting / activity.
Singing btw, is only one use for this.
And as much as the 'locations' interest me - so does the way that point moves in our mind. It 'moves' differently depending on what sort of emotion we are feeling.
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