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Mindwandering : how your constant mental drift can improve your mood and boost your creativity / Moshe Bar.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Hachette Go, [2022]Edition: First editionDescription: xviii, 253 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780306925306
  • 0306925303
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction: States of Mind -- Always "On" -- Connecting with Our Thoughts -- The Journey from Now -- What Do We Wander About? Our Self First -- This Way Something Potentially Wicked Comes -- Future Memories: Learning from Imagined Experiences -- The Loss of Novelty -- Templates of Mind and the Limits of Boundaries -- Breadth of Thought, Creativity, and Mood -- Meditation, the Default Brain, and the Quality of Our Experience -- Immersed Living -- An Optimal Mind for the Occasion -- In Sum: Five Points to Keep in Mind.
Summary: "Research has revealed that our brains are inherently noisy. A number of brain regions connected in what's dubbed the Default Mode Network (DMN) are always grinding away, engaged in a number of different involuntary activities that neuroscientists collectively call mindwandering: from daydreaming and self-chatter to ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. Not only does all of this inner commotion tug our attention away from the present moment, but it can dampen the quality of our experience, lowering our mood and potentially contributing to anxiety and depression. Yet, there's method to this apparent madness. Mindwandering is our brain's way of developing our sense of self, trying to sort out what others are thinking, and searching for associations to help us interpret what's happening in our lives. It can be both positive and negative. On one hand, can become so engaged in this consideration of the past and making predictions about the future that for much of the time we are disconnected from what is actually happening in the moment. On the other, we can become more aware of where our minds are wandering, learning to direct them to stimulate creative, increase our ability to focus, and boost our mood. We want, in short, to work toward being able to bring the right mind to the right time. Mindwandering is the first book to expose readers to the multi-faceted phenomenon of their wandering minds, the new and exciting research of the brain and the mind behind this default mode of ours, when it is beneficial and when it is harming us to wander, and how we can gain some control over our mental lives. In doing so, Mindwandering will bring to readers the rare and marvelous convergence of advanced neuroscience with ancient wisdom; cognitive psychology with creativity and mood; and the brain's default state linked to the quality of our daily experience"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 153.24 B223 Available 33111010790331
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"One of the pre-eminent cognitive neuroscientists of his generation" explores the proven benefits of letting your mind wander and the positive impact it can have on your mood and creative potential (Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling On Happiness ).

Our brains are noisy; certain regions are always grinding away at involuntary activities like daydreaming, worrying about the future, and self-chatter, taking up to forty-seven percent of our waking time. This is mindwandering--and while it can tug your attention away from the present and contribute to anxiety and depression, cognitive neuroscientist Moshe Bar is here to tell you about the method behind this apparent madness.



Mindwandering is the first popular book to explore this multi-faceted phenomenon of your wandering mind and introduces you to the new, exciting research behind it. Bar combines his decades of research to explain the benefits and the possible cost of mindwandering within the broader context of psychology, neuroscience, psychiatry and philosophy, providing you with practical knowledge that can help you: Develop your sense of self, better relate to others, and make associations that help you understand the world around you Increase your ability to focus by understanding when to wander--and when not to Magnify and enrich your experiences by learning about full immersion Stimulate your creativity by combing through the past and making predictions about the future Boost your mood by unleashing your mind.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: States of Mind -- Always "On" -- Connecting with Our Thoughts -- The Journey from Now -- What Do We Wander About? Our Self First -- This Way Something Potentially Wicked Comes -- Future Memories: Learning from Imagined Experiences -- The Loss of Novelty -- Templates of Mind and the Limits of Boundaries -- Breadth of Thought, Creativity, and Mood -- Meditation, the Default Brain, and the Quality of Our Experience -- Immersed Living -- An Optimal Mind for the Occasion -- In Sum: Five Points to Keep in Mind.

"Research has revealed that our brains are inherently noisy. A number of brain regions connected in what's dubbed the Default Mode Network (DMN) are always grinding away, engaged in a number of different involuntary activities that neuroscientists collectively call mindwandering: from daydreaming and self-chatter to ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. Not only does all of this inner commotion tug our attention away from the present moment, but it can dampen the quality of our experience, lowering our mood and potentially contributing to anxiety and depression. Yet, there's method to this apparent madness. Mindwandering is our brain's way of developing our sense of self, trying to sort out what others are thinking, and searching for associations to help us interpret what's happening in our lives. It can be both positive and negative. On one hand, can become so engaged in this consideration of the past and making predictions about the future that for much of the time we are disconnected from what is actually happening in the moment. On the other, we can become more aware of where our minds are wandering, learning to direct them to stimulate creative, increase our ability to focus, and boost our mood. We want, in short, to work toward being able to bring the right mind to the right time. Mindwandering is the first book to expose readers to the multi-faceted phenomenon of their wandering minds, the new and exciting research of the brain and the mind behind this default mode of ours, when it is beneficial and when it is harming us to wander, and how we can gain some control over our mental lives. In doing so, Mindwandering will bring to readers the rare and marvelous convergence of advanced neuroscience with ancient wisdom; cognitive psychology with creativity and mood; and the brain's default state linked to the quality of our daily experience"-- Provided by publisher.

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