Nutrition for the brain

I’m a big believer in not only feeding your body with the right nutrition but also feeding your mind with nutritional goodness. In a modern era where we are incredibly overloaded with information, thanks to the development of smart phones, it can be hard to gauge just how much we are being bombarded with information each and every time we pick up our devices. By and large this is owed to a combination of human habit and the evolutionary desire to belong and feel included (continually feeling the need to be on top of our news feeds). I also know many of us habitually turning the TV on at 6pm to be on top of world news.

Call me ignorant but I know myself well enough to know that if I overload my mind with the media’s portrayal of the “only” stuff that’s going on in the world today (war, gruesome murders, pain & suffering and out of control politics) then I know I’m going to be left in a pretty saddened state.

Whatever we focus on and absorb, is going to greatly affect our current state of mind and in turn attract the people and places that are a match to whatever energy we are emitting out into the world.

For example to feel sympathy for all those suffering in wars then to spread those thoughts of sadness to those around you, without taking steps to actually do anything about the situation (like donating money to charities in that country) only creates a negative ripple effect that will continue to spread from person to person.

On the flipside if you were to say donate a small amount of money, you could spread a more positive energy to others around you like “look how many meals I can buy this child in a year“.

After working in high profile criminal law, I saw the truth of what was happening in major cities across Australia and trust me it wasn’t pretty. I also saw how the media continually twisted that truth in order to bring across a story that only exacerbated further fear across the nation.

Why is it that only one story of joy is shared after the weather at the end of the news? This only creates the mindset of “wow look at the world it’s such a terrible place“. Yes I care about wars and famine, but I also care about learning how to become the best version of myself and grow in positive ways that can in turn help others.

Turning a blind eye to the news doesn’t take away that care factor but I simply choose to utilize my spare time to feed my mind with beneficial information that is by and large not mainstream.

Strengthening your mind and taking control of what you focus on leaves you in a much better place than to be a victim of fear. I have dedicated a huge amount of my recent years reading incredibly influential books as I believe almost all answers are held in literature.

If you think about it, with the number of people currently on earth and that have previously walked on earth, surely someone has gone through the same struggles that you’ve dealt with. Realistically there would have to be thousands if not millions in fact that have faced your same dilemmas.

Think about how many of them are authors that have written an entire book on the topic! I also dedicate a small portion of every day to self-improvement to continually strive to be the best version of myself.

I usually turn to influential leaders on Youtube or spiritual masters whose truth rings so clear to me. I find TedX talks expanding and highly educational as they cover a broad range of social issues and personal growth topics. Just remember, when you turn the TV on you’re turning your brain off- at least that is true for sitcoms and dramatic TV series like Housewives or Bachelor!

After four years of volunteering at a local nursing home, I see an energy switch happening all the time. I’ll always make the effort to say hello to the old lady or man sitting on their own in the corner with a sour look on their face as I’m intrigued with their stories (and I like a challenge).

Nine times out of ten I discover their viewpoint throughout their whole life was to always focus on the bad things that happened around them and to seemingly have no gratitude for the good things. Remember gratitude will always feed a wild spirit.

I’ll patiently listen to their complaints, however I always try to find a way to then change the conversation to something positive- they are almost always left in a better state than when I first sat down with them, simply by changing their focus. I know that when my time comes, I’d much rather be the old lady running amuck at bingo or trying to pick up on the dance floor then to mull over a lifetime of heartaches.