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| Reticular formation. |
Cut-and-dried and they're pretty oh they're just pretty regulated and normal are pretty standard looking is what I'm trying to say and you can see in our cartoons that in the spinal cord the gray matter is on the inside the white matter is on the outside. When we're talking about our cortex our gray matters on the outside and our white matters on the inside in the brainstem things get a little less clear in that you can see all kinds of areas so here's some white matter these I want to draw your attention to the fact that these three sections are stained with a myelin stain. So the myelin looks dark and the grey matter looks light so it's kind of flipped but the bottom line is here's a bunch of fibers here is some cell bodies here's a whole bunch of cell bodies around the cerebral aqueduct. Here's a great big bundle of fibers and then you can see that oh there's some cell bodies there's some cell bodies there's cell bodies all over the place in here with fibers interspersed and so what the heck is going on well the brainstem.
A transitional area between this gray on the inside white on the outside and the white on the inside and gray on the outside so that's part of what's going on and we have within the grade within the brainstem. We have very specific nuclei for very specific cranial nerves those are all named and theirs are for the most part pretty easy to find but there's something else.
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| Reticular formation |
That lives in the gray matter within the brainstem that's really important and that I really want to tell you about and that's the reticular formation the reticular formation is a very diffuse group of neurons. That lives within the medulla oblongata and the pons there they're not formed into any specific clusters they're kind of loose aggregations of cells within the medulla.
The pons they receive sensory information both somatic so from your surface and visceral from your internal organs they don't receive real specific information like they don't receive. A mosquito bit me or Oh a q-tip ran across my arm or or oh this part of my my stomach hurts but they have kind of a general awareness that something's going on but not real specific the reticular formation then sends that information up through the brainstem into the diencephalon.
Which remember is continuous with the brainstem and then on up into the cortex so it goes through your thalamus. Which is a sensory gateway it goes through the hypothalamus which we'll talk about later and it has a lot of regulatory functions and then on up to your cortex.
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| Reticular formation |
There are also then descending projections of that reticular formation down your spinal cord okay and this is going to interact with the lateral and ventral corticospinal tracts and all of the other neurons. That are impacting on the ventral horns to kind of have an effect on your muscles so it's the reticular formation it's it's kind of a general awareness thing an awareness of motion and an awareness of sensation that is very important for just kind of a general state of arousal and I don't mean arousal in any sort of romantic kind of way i mean arousal in the sense that you're awake okay.
So noise bright light vibration those things can wake you up out of asleep because your reticular formation is getting those sensations from the periphery and then reliving them up to your cortex without you even being aware of what woke you okay. That's the gist of it not the specifics that's just kind of the general gist there are also some really important things in the reticular formation that have to do with your heart rate and your respiratory rate so centers within the reticular formation are setting the tone for breathing and heartbeat. Which is one of the reasons why if you have damage to your brainstem via injury or stroke it can kill you because the neurons talking to your heart and talking to your lungs would no longer be working and you would cease to breathe and your heart would cease to be beat the reticular.
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| Reticular formation |
Activating system is also part of this particular formation and it is what then is responsible for you being not in a coma so if when you hear about people having brain stem damage and then being in a vegetative state. It's because the reticular activating system is not sending information up through the thalamus and up to the cortex for you to be awake and you do end up in what is called a coma or a vegetative state so in summary what do I want you to know about the brainstem. So what are the different regions which is the most cranial which is the most cottle be able to describe the most prominent surface features of each area think about the olive think about the tectum those kinds of things.
What radial nerves are associated with each area of the brainstem okay what are in the medulla which cranial nerves are in the ponds which cranial nerves are in the midbrain and what are some of those internal features. That I talked about think about Deki stations think about the fourth ventricle think about the cerebral aqueduct and then lastly what I want you to think about is what is the reticular formation. Where is it and why is it really really really important if you understand all of these concepts then you're ready the assessment.
You get the edge in life with NLP and psychology so the reticular activating system what is it you know talk about confusing names in NLP. This one about tops it but the reticular activating system system is an NLP per se but absolutely something you have to understand because so much about NLP talks about achieving the goals that you want or having the life that you desire or having an owner's manual for the brain. You'll see that in every book in every video so the regular activating system is really the cornerstone with all of that it really is about getting that part of your brain on side to make sure that you see. What you want to achieve what you want the simple fact remains we can only consciously focus on a few things at any one time some people say it's between three to nine or five to seven things consciously at any one time so much of our experience happens to us without going into our awareness because we're simply not able to take that on board and your reticular activating system focuses on those things that are important to you for a number of different things. So important to your safety that's paramount so you're articulate activating system we'll be looking to make sure that you are kept safe and the next thing what is it you're focusing on because that's what you'll notice and what is it you believe because that's what will become real to you. So let me give you a little example of how this works in a very brief way now while you're watching this or listening to this you probably weren't paying any attention to your feet but as you do now which one feels the warmest you'll start to notice that because I've asked that question you start to that part of your brains decides it's going to give you an answer now it's a bizarre question no so what's the point of that well the fact remains whatever you ask yourself or anyone asks you that part of your brain. Will seek to find an answer but also seek to prove you right so all the while while you're watching this or listening to it or even reading this now you're paying attention to your feet noting which one feels different you may also notice how the air feels on your skin and that instantly becomes real for you but it's not until you decide.
What it is that you want to focus on but things become real at the end of the day we are deletion machines there's so much happening around us all of the time. But we only can focus on a few things and that's those things that keep us safe those things that we want to focus on and those questions that we are asking ourselves without having a straight answer. What other people are asking us and this is what directs our Raz this is what directs our experience so how do you use your as to get what you want well first and foremost I'm going to say again you get exactly what you focus on whatever you focus on increases that means it becomes real so when you grab hold of a goal or an experience or something you want to have and you really have that desire for or one demand that sense of curiosity. Like how today am I going to notice that I'm feeling even more confident now that's not a question you can answer immediately but it is a question that will go into your reticule er cortex.
Another name for it that will begin to try and seek out an answer for you in what small way will you feel more confident today and it's not always obvious at first in the answer that it gives you because it might give you an answer for 24 48 72 hours. It can seek to prove you right so when you think about this all humans have this thinker and prove apart the thinker is a bit asking the questions the prove er is the bit serving up the information to prove your right or to answer that question but let's look at how some of us are using that Rick kill activating system.
When you get out of bed in the morning and you're five minutes late and you say today is going to be terrible. What other ways can today go wrong if you ask you'll find an answer and that's what you'll start to notice and then you'll say these things come in threes and sure enough and sometimes fours and fives. Because whatever you ask yourself whatever questions you ask will direct your rouse will direct your focus and whatever you direct your focus on will become real for you.
Richard Wiseman wrote a book called the luck factor which talks about this in a roundabout way that those people who believed that they were lucky would start to have what they called lucky.
Experiences that start to find money because they always find money that's what they expect that's what their razz was looking out. For those people who were unlucky were very unlucky big bills come through the door that they weren't expecting they did bump the car they were forgetting their wallet they were losing their phone they were losing their keys because you get largely what you expect.
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| Reticular formation |
Nowthat's powerful that's reallypowerful if you get what you expect because the expectant peace is the thinker that part of you that can think actively . Whenever you want about whatever it is that you want so you can define your focus and if you define your focus you almost change your reality because the other stuff simply gets omitted. Because it can't cope so have a think what it is that you want to decide you want to notice what you want to decide it to focus on and notice how that comes real we'll do this wrong all the time we might be a wedding feeling ourself getting quite warm and we're in a suit feeling uncomfortable thinking. Oh no I'm going to start sweating and what happens it switches on I think we get what we expect and that's that part of us that we need to learn how to control another example of this in work and about asking questions and receiving an answer. A few days later even now think of a time perhaps you're talking to a friend about a book or about a film that you'd watched years ago 10-15 years ago and you're talking about the film or about the actor and the name is gone out of your mind.
What was the name Jack there again and you can't for the life of you think of it it's on the tip of your tongue but you just can't quite get it but you ask yourself the question what was that name of that film again and you say oh it's gone it'll come to me and sure as eggs are eggs. It does come to you you're proved ear does serve you up that information because you ask that question but almost definitely it won't give you the answer straight away it takes some time to rifle through the files but an unanswered question keeps going to try to look to prove.
You right or to find an answer so 40 hours later when you're in the kitchen making yourself lunch on your own bang Tom Cruise comes to mind well I don't need it now. Because my friends not here so I'll text them what that what that was as well you see your brain is always looking to prove you right your brain is always looking for to to give you an answer to find a solution to your questions . So isn't about time you start asking yourself better questions what small ways today am I going to really master NLP what am I going to notice in my life that's going to help me improve my confidence and self-esteem who today is going to show me appreciation now these are all ways that you can really begin to direct that attention of that rasz and you will definitely get what you expect. I had someone in to see me for a one-to-one therapy session nine months ago from recording this and the girl was fascinated by this and she said. Oh I think I've seen heard about this and she said are you saying to me if i say 'where will i notice money next then i'll find money i said let's try it and the very next morning about 10 o'clock. She was going into a local cafe let's divide kind of these super salads and she messaged me saying she found five pounds on the floor she took a photo Britt asked if it was any ones no one knew so she took it but isn't it interesting she asked herself that night and then saw money at the following day now this is really really will largely get what you expect so set your rounds set your questions and start to get what it is that you actually want .
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