Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Neuropsychology and me
My niece Wendy said last year that she wanted to be a neuropsychologist. I don't know if she still wants to - she is starting at UTC and hasn't said. I've been thinking about it and it's wandering around my mind that I might want to pursue that. I have a fascination with the brain and how it impacts our behavior. Plus, having MS - I have learned alot about how the brain can impact our health.
According to Wikipedia: Neuropsychology studies the structure and function of the brain related to specific psychological processes and behaviors. The term neuropsychology has been applied to lesion studies in humans and animals. It has also been applied to efforts to record electrical activity from individual cells (or groups of cells) in higher primates (including some studies of human patients).[1] It is scientific in its approach and shares an information processing view of the mind with cognitive psychology and cognitive science."
Check out this link: http://www.answers.com/topic/neuropsychology
Ever since I read Daniel Goldman's Emotional Intellignce and learned about the amydala, the brain has fascinated me. Not in an anatomical way but in how it works to drive our behaviors and actions. My friend Kimdric drove me in this direction too - when someone is witchy, she always wonders what happened in their day or their past that made them that way. What experience changed them and in my perspective, created inescapable amydala and neural pathways? Goldman called it being highjacked by your amygdala. He said that emotional intelligence is learning to avoid the highjack. I think in many cases, if the pathway is too well integrated, you'd have to amazingly cognizant of your every moment and thought to try. So much of life is reactionary. How can you avoid that and still be who you are?
Anyway, if anyone wants to comment and tell me what they think of me pursuing this maybe down the road, I'd love to hear it.
According to Wikipedia: Neuropsychology studies the structure and function of the brain related to specific psychological processes and behaviors. The term neuropsychology has been applied to lesion studies in humans and animals. It has also been applied to efforts to record electrical activity from individual cells (or groups of cells) in higher primates (including some studies of human patients).[1] It is scientific in its approach and shares an information processing view of the mind with cognitive psychology and cognitive science."
Check out this link: http://www.answers.com/topic/neuropsychology
Ever since I read Daniel Goldman's Emotional Intellignce and learned about the amydala, the brain has fascinated me. Not in an anatomical way but in how it works to drive our behaviors and actions. My friend Kimdric drove me in this direction too - when someone is witchy, she always wonders what happened in their day or their past that made them that way. What experience changed them and in my perspective, created inescapable amydala and neural pathways? Goldman called it being highjacked by your amygdala. He said that emotional intelligence is learning to avoid the highjack. I think in many cases, if the pathway is too well integrated, you'd have to amazingly cognizant of your every moment and thought to try. So much of life is reactionary. How can you avoid that and still be who you are?
Anyway, if anyone wants to comment and tell me what they think of me pursuing this maybe down the road, I'd love to hear it.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Rainbow Bridge for Abandoned Dogs
Rainbow Bridge for Abandoned Dogs - my own adaptation
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
The animals that had no forever friend on earth come here too – still waiting for the love that the other had in life. They play with the dogs waiting for their families. They too are waiting for a family; just not one they’ve ever known.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as they remember in their best days on earth . If they had a family, they remember their family as they play. If no family was theirs, they are experiencing joy for the first time and their play and fun exceeds all expectation.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as they remember in their best days on earth . If they had a family, they remember their family as they play. If no family was theirs, they are experiencing joy for the first time and their play and fun exceeds all expectation.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one animal suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His master is coming! His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. His family has come! You are there!
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. The other part of your heart is now with you again.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. The other part of your heart is now with you again.
For those that had no family on earth , never fear. They are not stuck in Rainbow Bridge, no matter how fun it is. They have a brighter expectation looking forward. The day comes when suddenly they stop and look into the distance. Their now bright eyes are intent; their bodies eager and flying over the green grass, their legs carrying them faster and faster and faster than they have ever known. Their new family has come – they know Him and cannot express their glee in anything more than a frenzied, wiggling, licking, jumping, barking joy. He has come to take them home! He falls on the ground and wiggles and jumps and hugs them all. His touch heals all the memories of the past and they have the best family that they ever imagined. They are no longer alone, or scared or hurting. Jesus has come - He is their family. He walks them home to a place where there is no fear, no pain and no solitude – only His presence, which replaces their sorrow with His joy and His love.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Migraines and life
This site really hit home - http://migraine.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/beyond-kittens-beyond-angels/ and this one: http://www.thedailyheadache.com/2008/01/migraine-thief.html/%20You live with migraines and sometimes you do limit your life because of them. Sometimes you still try to get out when you know when one is coming, because you refuse to let a headache rule your life. It works sometimes but a lot of times, it doesn't.
There ARE times you soldier on and try not to talk about it and try to ignore it. It's hard when the migraine makes it hard to hear and hard to see all the hustle and bustle around you. You really really wish for your quiet dark bedroom with a cold washcloth and meds to help. And yes, I avoid action movies as much as I can and sometimes kids' movies, because I know I can't handle the flashing lights and movement and sound. Talk about asking for trouble.
The issue is that some people understand that a migraine or cluster headache is incredibly painful and you can't talk during one and can't listen. The sound increases the pain. I have been at the store when one hit and wanted everyone around me to just shut up. Even people behind the counter. And good grief, turn out the lights - why must it be so bright. It's not that you don't care in your heart and head, but at that time, you really can't care because it's taken over. Emily Dickinson once wrote - "pain is eternal" and she was right - while you are in pain, it feels eternal, even if you know in your head it will end.
Mindfulness meditation speaks to that too - to use that method of meditation, you focus on what you physically feel at that moment. How does your leg feel the chair under it or how do your glasses feel against your skin? Stuff like that. It brings you to the present moment and if you practice, you can stay in the present moment and it alleviates emotional or mental stress. Just like dogs and cats, all you have is the present moment during mindfulness meditation, if you are good at it. Try it - concentrate on what you physically feel right now - how does your shirt feel against your skin? Is it soft or is is crisp? Notice how you can't think about anything else if you are concentrating on the physical in that very moment. It helps with handling stress but it just reinforces how physical sensation overrides everything else. Of course your mind will wander but you can easily bring it back by thinking of something like how your feet feel in your shoes or something. I know there's deeper stuff to it, but that's what I remember.
That premise of physical sensation overriding the mental or emotional state can also derail you too, if the sensation is pain, like a migraine. It's very very very hard to overcome - can be impossible. I am experiencing cluster headaches lately (for 2 months!) and it's changed my personality to a degree. I am mean and I don't like that at all. But I can't handle people being dumb and I can't hide it right now. So that's another reason to hibernate and isolate yourself until you can be nice again and be yourself again.
Cluster headaches are the worst - they are short, which sounds ok, but they sneak up on you and the bam! the right side of your head, incuding the back of your head, your cheekbone and your teeth on that side are being attacked by an ice pick. It lasts ten minutes or so and goes away, but you know it's coming back and you don't know when. Probably not long. They come in clusters, duh and can recur for days and weeks and months.
I just found out that I have a lot of allergies which could be contributing to them. So I'm doing allergy shots, Zyrtec and Omnaris. I'm also taking a different migraine preventative, Tegretol. We'll see. I hope it all works. So far, I have had continuous dull pain but only rare ice pick moments since I started the Tegretol. It's an anti-seizure med for epilepsy, which is weird, but my PCP said that migraines are a type of seizure. My sister took Tegretol her whole life due to epilsepsy until her brain surgery in 1999,which removed the part of her brain scarring that caused the epilepsy. She still takes it but on a much smaller scale. It feels like the forbidden medicine to me, since I was told firmly to stay away from her medicine as a child. But it it works and I'm 42 now, so don't you think I should be past that?
I get to work and my eyes water and my head hurts, so I guess I'm allergic to something here. A lot of people here are cat people and I'm really really allergic to cats. Don't know what to do about that. The other problem is that some people have never had a migraine and don't get it. Those people you want to bonk over the head. Really. I'm thinking of carrying a sledgehammer with me. No, not really. Just a play stuffed sledgehammer toy that I have for some reason.
There ARE times you soldier on and try not to talk about it and try to ignore it. It's hard when the migraine makes it hard to hear and hard to see all the hustle and bustle around you. You really really wish for your quiet dark bedroom with a cold washcloth and meds to help. And yes, I avoid action movies as much as I can and sometimes kids' movies, because I know I can't handle the flashing lights and movement and sound. Talk about asking for trouble.
The issue is that some people understand that a migraine or cluster headache is incredibly painful and you can't talk during one and can't listen. The sound increases the pain. I have been at the store when one hit and wanted everyone around me to just shut up. Even people behind the counter. And good grief, turn out the lights - why must it be so bright. It's not that you don't care in your heart and head, but at that time, you really can't care because it's taken over. Emily Dickinson once wrote - "pain is eternal" and she was right - while you are in pain, it feels eternal, even if you know in your head it will end.
Mindfulness meditation speaks to that too - to use that method of meditation, you focus on what you physically feel at that moment. How does your leg feel the chair under it or how do your glasses feel against your skin? Stuff like that. It brings you to the present moment and if you practice, you can stay in the present moment and it alleviates emotional or mental stress. Just like dogs and cats, all you have is the present moment during mindfulness meditation, if you are good at it. Try it - concentrate on what you physically feel right now - how does your shirt feel against your skin? Is it soft or is is crisp? Notice how you can't think about anything else if you are concentrating on the physical in that very moment. It helps with handling stress but it just reinforces how physical sensation overrides everything else. Of course your mind will wander but you can easily bring it back by thinking of something like how your feet feel in your shoes or something. I know there's deeper stuff to it, but that's what I remember.
That premise of physical sensation overriding the mental or emotional state can also derail you too, if the sensation is pain, like a migraine. It's very very very hard to overcome - can be impossible. I am experiencing cluster headaches lately (for 2 months!) and it's changed my personality to a degree. I am mean and I don't like that at all. But I can't handle people being dumb and I can't hide it right now. So that's another reason to hibernate and isolate yourself until you can be nice again and be yourself again.
Cluster headaches are the worst - they are short, which sounds ok, but they sneak up on you and the bam! the right side of your head, incuding the back of your head, your cheekbone and your teeth on that side are being attacked by an ice pick. It lasts ten minutes or so and goes away, but you know it's coming back and you don't know when. Probably not long. They come in clusters, duh and can recur for days and weeks and months.
I just found out that I have a lot of allergies which could be contributing to them. So I'm doing allergy shots, Zyrtec and Omnaris. I'm also taking a different migraine preventative, Tegretol. We'll see. I hope it all works. So far, I have had continuous dull pain but only rare ice pick moments since I started the Tegretol. It's an anti-seizure med for epilepsy, which is weird, but my PCP said that migraines are a type of seizure. My sister took Tegretol her whole life due to epilsepsy until her brain surgery in 1999,which removed the part of her brain scarring that caused the epilepsy. She still takes it but on a much smaller scale. It feels like the forbidden medicine to me, since I was told firmly to stay away from her medicine as a child. But it it works and I'm 42 now, so don't you think I should be past that?
I get to work and my eyes water and my head hurts, so I guess I'm allergic to something here. A lot of people here are cat people and I'm really really allergic to cats. Don't know what to do about that. The other problem is that some people have never had a migraine and don't get it. Those people you want to bonk over the head. Really. I'm thinking of carrying a sledgehammer with me. No, not really. Just a play stuffed sledgehammer toy that I have for some reason.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Granddad
Granddad - His obit says in brief what a fascinating man he was. He was an avid genealogist, a writer, a history buff and a flirt. He was one of the smartest men I have ever known. My dad and my older brother are up there too.
He was funny, canny in a way that only an older Southern intellect can be and was very influential among the Knoxville Repbulican political arena. He was a Christian man who married well - when I say well, I don't mena that Grandmother was rich (she was not) but she was smart and was the making of George Everett Mynatt. She was a Christian, feisty woman who raised three kids in the fear and admonition of the Lord, who turned around and did the same thing with their kids.
Granddad loved his family - I always knew that he thought we were the best things in the world. I knew that he KNEW in his heart that we were the smartest, most intuitive family. After all, we were his people. It gave me a confidence in his love and faith in me that never wavered. I miss him to this day. He died in May 2004 with most of his family circled around his bed at the hospice that night. It was me, my parents, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins Lea, Patrick and Chris and at the end, my older brother. My cousins Jim and John, my little brother and my sister and their families lived too far away.
We were lucky to have Granddad and I count myself fortunate to have had the experience of being his grandchild.
_________
George Everett Mynatt, 92, died Sunday, May 2, 2004. Born June 16, 1911, in Grainger County, he was the son of William H. and Susan Penelope Mynatt. Mr.
Mynatt came to Knox County when he was 17 to secure a job in a restaurant.
In 1940, he began working as a salesman for a flour milling firm, J. Allen Smith & Co. and in 1960, he formed his own business, Mynatt Brokerage Co. His food
brokerage firm was a factor in the Knoxville food market area for a number of
years. In recognition of his stature in the business field, he was elected by his peers to serve as president of the Knoxville Food Brokers Association. In
1972, Mr. Mynatt sold his company to retire.
Mr. Mynatt served as a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention called in 1971 to address the state's tax structure and his family said he was proud of the resulting plan that lowered taxes on residences within the state. From 1974 to 1999, when he again retired at age 87, he worked full time as an officer of the court for Knox County Criminal Court. A former deacon at Broadway Baptist Church, Mr. Mynatt was a founding member, treasurer and deacon at Second Baptist Church, and a current member of Central Baptist Church in Fountain City. According to his family, Mr. Mynatt had a wide interest in many things. In addition to his lifelong participation in the Republican Party, he served for years as chairman of the 31st voting precinct. His family said he had long been a student of his family's genealogy and was a recognized authority in this area. He was a member of Sons of the Revolution and First Families of Tennessee organization.
He was funny, canny in a way that only an older Southern intellect can be and was very influential among the Knoxville Repbulican political arena. He was a Christian man who married well - when I say well, I don't mena that Grandmother was rich (she was not) but she was smart and was the making of George Everett Mynatt. She was a Christian, feisty woman who raised three kids in the fear and admonition of the Lord, who turned around and did the same thing with their kids.
Granddad loved his family - I always knew that he thought we were the best things in the world. I knew that he KNEW in his heart that we were the smartest, most intuitive family. After all, we were his people. It gave me a confidence in his love and faith in me that never wavered. I miss him to this day. He died in May 2004 with most of his family circled around his bed at the hospice that night. It was me, my parents, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins Lea, Patrick and Chris and at the end, my older brother. My cousins Jim and John, my little brother and my sister and their families lived too far away.
We were lucky to have Granddad and I count myself fortunate to have had the experience of being his grandchild.
_________
George Everett Mynatt, 92, died Sunday, May 2, 2004. Born June 16, 1911, in Grainger County, he was the son of William H. and Susan Penelope Mynatt. Mr.
Mynatt came to Knox County when he was 17 to secure a job in a restaurant.
In 1940, he began working as a salesman for a flour milling firm, J. Allen Smith & Co. and in 1960, he formed his own business, Mynatt Brokerage Co. His food
brokerage firm was a factor in the Knoxville food market area for a number of
years. In recognition of his stature in the business field, he was elected by his peers to serve as president of the Knoxville Food Brokers Association. In
1972, Mr. Mynatt sold his company to retire.
Mr. Mynatt served as a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention called in 1971 to address the state's tax structure and his family said he was proud of the resulting plan that lowered taxes on residences within the state. From 1974 to 1999, when he again retired at age 87, he worked full time as an officer of the court for Knox County Criminal Court. A former deacon at Broadway Baptist Church, Mr. Mynatt was a founding member, treasurer and deacon at Second Baptist Church, and a current member of Central Baptist Church in Fountain City. According to his family, Mr. Mynatt had a wide interest in many things. In addition to his lifelong participation in the Republican Party, he served for years as chairman of the 31st voting precinct. His family said he had long been a student of his family's genealogy and was a recognized authority in this area. He was a member of Sons of the Revolution and First Families of Tennessee organization.
Island of Misfit Toys
For some reason, the Island of Misfit Toys has been on my mind today. I keep thinking about the 'Charlie-in-the-box" and the little doll with red hair - I can't remember why she was on the island. Don't we all sometimes feel like misfit toys in a land of perfectly-made toys?
Guess that's all I had to say in this blog.
Guess that's all I had to say in this blog.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Follow me?
I wonder if anyone will follow me? This blogging out into the ether is fun and i like posting aimlessly but it would be nice to talk with people who don't know me out there and don't have opinions about what I should or shouldn't say. Is anyone out there?
Any one read old Piers Anthony? Or Phillip Yancy?
Any one read old Piers Anthony? Or Phillip Yancy?
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