Mariel Hemingway: ‘With darkness there is light’ – Ernest Hemingway’s granddaughter’s documentary ‘Running from Crazy’ – a guide for the creative mind

Mariel Hemingway’s words that “with darkness there is light” should be the words imprinted in the heart of every person that struggles with learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, alcoholism, depression, suicide, or any other one of life’s difficult challenges.

In the documentary “Running From Crazy,” Mariel Hemingway does one of the bravest things any person can do in his or her lifetime – she is facing her deepest and darkest demons.

Mariel Hemingway’s demons of alcoholism and mental illness span, like in many families, over generations. With more than 7 family suicides, including her sister and her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, Mariel Hemingway tries to come to terms with her family’s past and tragedies.

“Running From Crazy” is scheduled to be shown on Oct. 6 during the San Diego Film Festival at the ArcLight Cinemas in La Jolla/UTC. One can only hope that the documentary will be made available nationwide.

In the new documentary from Cabin Creek Films, two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple examines the personal journey of Mariel Hemingway as she strives for a greater understanding of her complex family history.

During an interview with Oprah, Mariel Hemingway says that every family’s line of generations has its own demons.  Mariel Hemingway also talks about the Hemingway curse. “With that comes tremendous creativity, love, fame. But also with that comes the opposite. Because I think with darkness there is light.”

In Mariel Hemingway’s case, she describes her family’s darkness as mental illness, mental instability, and insecurity.

While titled “Running From Crazy,” Mariel Hemingway in fact shows that her documentary is not so much a “running from” her family’s legacy but running towards “her family’s curse.”

It is part of an essential spiritual journey, it is part of making a decision, it is part of understanding that the creative mind does have a choice -- but in order to make a choice, one has to be able to see both the light and the dark side.

Just as there is a purpose to day, there is a purpose to night.

Dyslexia: What should dyslexics do with their life? Vince Low – an artist who shows

Dyslexia is one of the most misunderstood learning disabilities and even less understood abilities which makes many dyslexics wonder – what should I do with my life?

If you ask famous dyslexics like Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Agatha Christie, Whoopie Goldberg, Tom Cruise, Stephen Spielberg, or Harry Belafonte, they’d all most likely say – find your passion in life.

For those unfamiliar with dyslexia, dyslexics have a hard time with reading, writing, math, directions, and generally all left brain hemisphere tasks because of a dominant right brain hemisphere.

Left brain hemisphere tasks are what traditional schools focus on while right brain hemisphere tasks are more non-conformist, artistic, and creative.

Exploration International discusses in detail dyslexia as disability and an amazing ability and explains dyslexia via brain images.

Needless to say, dyslexics often feel out of place in traditional school environments.

However, once dyslexics are out in the world and on their own, there is no limit as to what dyslexics can do with their dyslexic right-brain hemisphere gift.

One of the most recent dyslexic artists in the news is Vince Low whose work is seen above and to the left. Vince Low is dyslexic and from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His artistic focus is Illustration, Advertising, and Character Design.

ADHD, Neurocore, and a new era in mind control: FDA permits first brain wave test to help assess (and control) the ADHD mind

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed on July 15, 2013, the marketing of the first medical device based on brain function to help assess attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents 6 to 17 years old.

The device, the Neuropsychiatric EEG-Based Assessment Aid (NEBA) System, is based on electroencephalogram (EEG) technology, which records different kinds of electrical impulses (waves) given off by neurons (nerve cells) in the brain and the number of times (frequency) the impulses are given off each second.

The NEBA System is a 15- to 20-minute non-invasive test that calculates the ratio of two standard brain wave frequencies, known as theta and beta waves. The theta/beta ratio has been shown to be higher in children and adolescents with ADHD than in children without it.

When used as part of a complete medical and psychological examination, the device can help confirm an ADHD diagnosis or a clinician’s decision that further diagnostic testing should focus on ADHD or other medical or behavioral conditions that produce symptoms similar to ADHD.

Here are a few more ADHD important facts:

• So far, ADHD has been diagnosed mainly through subjective observations by parents and teachers, meaning that there really is no standard diagnostic test of ADHD.

• Before NEBA, ADHD tests included meeting the criteria according to the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), a behavioral questionnaire, a physical examination (to show there is nothing physically wrong), and IQ and behavioral testing.

• To be diagnosed with ADHD, a kid has to be smart but not perform accordingly.

• NEBA Health of Augusta, Ga., manufactures the NEBA System.

• In support of the de novo petition, the manufacturer submitted data including a clinical study that evaluated 275 children and adolescents ranging from 6 to 17 years old with attention or behavioral concerns. Clinicians evaluated all 275 patients using the NEBA System and using standard diagnostic protocols, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV Text Revision(DSM-IV-TR) criteria, behavioral questionnaires, behavioral and IQ testing, and physical exams to determine if the patient had ADHD. An independent group of ADHD experts reviewed these data and arrived at a consensus diagnosis regarding whether the research subject met clinical criteria for ADHD or another condition. The study results showed that the use of the NEBA System aided clinicians in making a more accurate diagnosis of ADHD when used in conjunction with a clinical assessment for ADHD, compared with doing the clinical assessment alone. (FDA information)

As a consequence of the FDA approval, health care providers and private organizations will be offering the brain wave test.

As discussed in the above video, Neurocore measures the electrical current that drives the brain and shows it on a screen in brain waves. It does not only assess the brain waves or electricity of the ADHD mind but it also controls it. The electrical current of the ADHD brain is amplified and sent to a computer that plays a DVD. As children watch a DVD that they want to watch, if their brain waves go higher, the DVD will stop -- telling the ADHD kid, “stop doing that.” The goal is to achieve a “perfect pattern of focus.” 

Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, and Winston Churchill would most likely have all said the same thing: Of course our brain waves and neurons have to work faster. How else would we have been able to accomplish what we did during our life time? (Exploration International).

Would they have chosen to have those brain waves changed into a "perfect pattern of focus"? 

Obama and Trayvon Martin: The media world is in dire need of the creative mind

Too much, too little, too late ... 

President Obama discussed the George Zimmerman acquittal in the killing of teenager Trayvon Martin during a surprise appearance at the White House briefing on Friday, July 19, 2013.

While President Obama focused in his about 18-minute speech on the need for the country to protest peacefully, to move on, and to learn lessons from Trayvon Martin’s death, the mass media focused on reporting one major thing – when President Obama said that “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”

Obama continues to say …

“And when you think about why, in the African- American community at least, there’s a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it’s important to recognize that the African- American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that -- that doesn’t go away.”

On Google, 1490 news sources reported on President Obama with most of those news sources writing about Obama’s statement that “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”

Not many readers see the news sources beyond the first 20 articles appearing on Google and not many readers actually get an accurate picture of what President Obama was trying to say.

Of course President Obama did not mean to say that he actually was like Trayvon Martin who was from a broken family, suspended three times from school, and had been in trouble for things most teens get in trouble for and a bit more.

President Obama’s intent was to use himself to make his listeners understand what the African-American community is experiencing and why there is so much outrage about Trayvon Martin’s death and about the acquittal of George Zimmerman.

But unfortunately, the general media is not interested in President Obama’s intent but in what makes a good headline.

When listening to President Obama’s complete speech or reading the transcript of his speech on our JT19News blog, it becomes quite clear that President Obama intended to address the many problems that the country is still facing regarding race, law enforcement, and the judicial system.

Unfortunately, what President Obama did not address was the root of many of this country’s problems which goes beyond race -- childhood experience.

With all the media coverage about Trayvon Martin’s death, there is very little coverage about Trayvon Martin’s childhood and his suspension from school -- maybe because it doesn’t fit into the idolized picture that some groups have turned Trayvon Martin into for their own interests.

The story of a 17-year-old young man getting shot does not just begin on the night of the shooting. The story of a 17-year-old getting shot, no matter what race he is, most often begins in childhood.

President Obama’s speech on July 19, 2013, intended to remind everyone that there is a lesson to be learned from Trayvon Martin’s death. But without including a teen’s childhood into that lesson, the quest for true change will be in vain.

Related articles on our News Blog:

Obama's full speech and video on Trayvon Martin on Friday July 19, 2013

Why Trayvon Martin protests should worry the nation: Is Trayvon Martin being used?

An inside look at Trayvon Martin and beyond the George Zimmerman trial

    

The Power of the Creative Mind

Despite all technological and scientific advances, research has shown that much of the capability of the human brain and the potential of the human mind still needs to be explored. Writing, learning disabilities, and emotions are three major ways that assist each individual in the exploration of the power of the creative mind.



Writing: By simply beginning to write, the mind accesses areas of the brain that otherwise would not be explored. The process of writing touches parts of the brain that connects with the past, the present, or the future http://www.explorationinternational.com/Writing.html. You can share your discoveries through writing here!

Learning Disabilities: Each learning disability is the other side of an amazing ability. Our Iceberg Principle http://www.explorationinternational.com/LDTips6-10.html shows how much of the human mind remains undiscovered by neither recognizing a disability nor an ability. Help others by sharing your abilities here. If you have a learning disability but are not aware of your ability, check our list of historical people http://www.explorationinternational.com/LD.html to find yours.

Emotions: Our emotions connect all parts of the human brain and the human body  http://www.explorationinternational.com/Emotions3.html.  Our emotions are meant to propel us into growth and new discoveries. In addition to our Emotion's Software (see below), we will add some additional techniques on this blog to show how emotions can impact our behavior and help each individual how to access the power of the creative mind.

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Contact: Exploration@cox.net  

Website: ExplorationInternational.com
Our News Blog

The Creative Mind and Antidepressant Medication

Our CreativeMindSeries.org Blog follows some of the interesting topics that link our creative mind. Not surprisingly, many people with a creative mind (or the potential of a creative mind) come across the topic of antidepressant medication at some time or another in their life. On February 19, 2012, CBS shared an interesting report about the powerful placebo effect of antidepressant medication. In case you missed the airing and would like to see it, here is the link to the segment. It is less than 14 minutes long and worthwhile watching.

 http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399362n&tag=pop;videos  Video Description: Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect? A Harvard scientist says the drugs used to treat depression are effective, but for many, it's not the active ingredient that's making people feel better. It's the placebo effect.

We also recommend the less than 5 minutes 60 Minute Overtime video:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57380908-10391709/how-the-powerful-placebo-effect-works/?tag=contentMain;contentAux  Video Description: When Harvard researcher Irving Kirsch told Lesley Stahl that the difference between taking an antidepressant and taking a sugar pill is minimal for most people, the 60 Minutes correspondent said, "But people are getting better taking antidepressants. I know them." In this "Overtime" feature, you'll hear Lesley share her own family's personal experience with antidepressants-- and how the news in her own report affects her family.Also in this video, Lesley discusses new and controversial research on the placebo effect and the ethics of lying to patients who might benefit from the power of the placebo.

For those of you who have read our "What's the Deal With Learning Disability" eBook http://www.explorationinternational.com/LDbook.html , the videos will reecho the topic of the creative mind of emotionally sensitive people, the history and true meaning of depression, and the effects medication has on the creative mind. Would Beethoven, Emily Dickinson, Hans Christian Andersen, have created the same artistic work if taking antidepressants?

For our Emotions software users, please revisit our online Emotions Software User Guide http://www.explorationinternational.com/EmotionsUser.html and take a look again at our images on the page. Imagine how different the emotional experience would be for anyone if he/she were under antidepressant medication.

Most importantly, though, it is imortant to remember that the creative mind thinks outside the box. Ideally, for the creative mind, there is no all-or-nothing thinking. The creative mind does not need to decide on whether to take antidepressants or not to take antidepressants. For the creative mind, the questions might be:  "What is the price for taking antidepressants?" "What can I do in addition to taking antidepressants?"  and "What alternate means are there to achieve the same positive effects as antidepressants?".  http://www.explorationinternational.com/EmotionsTip123.html

Emotions and Actions: Technique #3: Talking

Technique #3: After saying "It's o.k. to feel....", (angry, sad, annoyed, frustrated) many  of our Emotions software users chose to use "talking" as action and would like to pass on the following tips:

1. Distinguish to whom or with whom you are talking.

• Talking to a man will mostly likely get you some advice or problem solving solution response. This is great if you are 'frustrated, angry, annoyed, etc.' because you have car trouble or another problem that needs fixing. If you are not looking for a solution or problem solving answer though, your husband, boyfriend,  or other man might not be the right person to talk to.
• Talking to a friend might get you into a situation where you end up having to listen to his/her anger, sadness, annoyance, or frustration. If you feel you can listen, that is great, but if you need someone that listens to you, then being able to know what friend to talk to is helpful.
• Talking to a family member, relative, neighbor, acquaintance, friend, teacher, or professor  can make a big difference. It has really helped to distinguish how close someone is. Sometimes it is better to talk to someone who is emotionally more distant than someone close.
• "Before using the Emotions software, I would tend to share my happiness, frustration, anger, or annoyance with anyone  who happened to be there,  my barber, mailman, my landlord,  my neighbor, even my cashier at the local supermarket. I must have driven them crazy. The  Emotions software has changed so much and I am actually looking forward to those challenging feelings. I don't think I have ever been that creative in my life."  

2. Remember that your emotion is a catalyst for growth.

• Whether or not the "talking" action leads to growth or not is a great way to determine whether one chose the right conversation partner. Ask yourself while you are listening to someone, "Does this conversation contribute to my growth?"
• If you have a chance to have a session with a psychologist or therapist, use the same criteria. Does this session lead to my personal growth? Surprisingly, some software users have found that some sessions were a waste of time and moved on to another therapist.

3. Finding the right person to talk to for your personal growth can be a trial and error process.

• Don't give up using the "talking" action as the third step in your Emotions software. Keep your notes that the Emotions Journal generates for you for future reference. Those notes are really helpful and actually fun to read later on.
• If you learn that the first person that you talked to did not contribute to any growth, try another person. If the second person does not help either, try again. Sometimes it takes time to learn which person is the best person to talk to for different emotions.

Emotions and Actions: Technique # 2

Technique #2: No matter how you feel right now (happy, sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated....), think or say the phrase:  "It's o.k. to feel ....."  (It's o.k. to feel happy; it's o.k. to feel sad; it's o.k. to feel annoyed...).

Saying or thinking the phrase "It's o.k. to feel ..." is one of the most powerful techniques you can use to link emotions and actions.

The moment you are saying "it's o.k. to feel...", you are making a judgment. Most of our emotions derive from different parts of our body (or associated areas of the brain: see visual depiction at: http://www.explorationinternational.com/Emotions3.html.

Making a judgment accesses the prefrontal cortex of the brain which is responsible for executive functions and cognitive processes like planning, working memory, attention, problem solving, verbal reasoning, inhibition, mental flexibility, multi-tasking, initiation and monitoring of actions, planning complex cognitive behaviors, personality expression, decision making, moderating correct social behavior and the orchestration of thoughts and actions.

By saying "It's o.k. to feel..." , an emotion can become a catalyst (promoter, facilitator) for the creative mind.

While some people are intuitively creative, emotions, especially the most negative and challenging ones, are the most powerful catalysts that propel us into growth.

Using emotions as a catalyst for personal growth is a skill that can be learned like walking, riding the bike, or swimming. Our Emotions Software was designed to teach that skill. Once learned, anyone can apply the skill of turning challenging emotions into personal growth, especially during a time when emotions appear to be most negative and overwhelming.

Emotions and Actions: Technique #1

Many people believe that emotions are to be managed and controlled. Unfortunately, viewing emotions that way means missing out on the true Magic of Emotions and the Power of our Creative Mind. www.explorationinternational.com/emotions.html

Many people are aware that emotions affect our actions and behavior. We feel sad...we cry, we feel angry....we fight, we feel scared....we run. However, not many people know how our actions and behavior can affect emotions and how emotions can propel us therefore into personal growth.  

Even though the most effective techniques for personal growth are very unique to each individual, here are some techniques that you can try in addition to the skills taught in our Emotions Software:

Technique #1:  No matter how you feel right now, breathe in something pleasant that is nearby. (The scent of your clothing, a piece of food that you like, the scent of a candle, the scent of a pet, the scent of a plant.) Do not just smell the item but consciously breathe it in. Take a long breath and notice how your action of "breathing"in something pleasant makes you feel and how your action affects your emotion.

The Power of the Creative Mind: Writing, Learning Disabilities, Emotions

Insight #1: Despite all technological and scientific advances, research has shown that much of the capability of the human brain and the potential of the human mind still needs to be explored. Writing, Learning Disabilities, and Emotions are three major ways that assist each individual in the exploration of the Power of the Creative Mind.

Writing: By simply beginning to write, the mind accesses areas of the brain that otherwise would not be explored. The process of writing touches parts of the brain that connects with the past, the present, or the future http://www.explorationinternational.com/Writing.html. You can share your discoveries through writing here!

Learning Disabilities: Each learning disability is the other side of an amazing ability. Our Iceberg Principle http://www.explorationinternational.com/LDTips6-10.html shows how much of the human mind remains undiscovered by neither recognizing a disability nor an ability. Help others by sharing your abilities here. If you have a learning disability but are not aware of your ability, check our list of historical people http://www.explorationinternational.com/LD.html to find yours.

Emotions: Our emotions connect all parts of the human brain and the human body http://www.explorationinternational.com/Emotions3.html. Our emotions are meant to propel us into growth and new discoveries. In addition to our Emotion's Software (see below), we will add some additional techniques on this blog to show how emotions can impact our behavior and help each individual how to access the power of the creative mind.

Please note: If you are not able to post your comment here, please use our contact form on our website http://www.explorationinternational.com/contact.html to write to us and we will post your comment for you.

What makes writing good writing?

....when you turn the ordinary into something extraordinary!

Try it the next time you write something. It doesn't matter if you write a blog, a note, something on facebook, an essay, an article, a poem, or even part of a novel.

Writing something extraordinary can include a simple word. Use the synonym feature in a word processor to expand your vocabulary.

Writing something extraordinary can include a name. Names can open the door to a different time and place. For example, using any of the mythological names can bring up a new image in the reader's mind. Be like "Athena". Did you know that Athena was not only the goddess for creativity but also the goddess of duality? The duality found in almost any person. The duality of good and bad, the dualtiy of abiltiy and disability?

Turning writing into extraordinary writing can include many more things....more to come on the blog soon.