Reticular means “net or web-like.” The RAS is a net-like formation of nerve cells and their connections lying deep within the brain-stem, between the brain and the spinal cord. Of great significance is the fact that the RAS is not involved in interpreting the quality or type of sensory input it filters. Rather, it activates the entire cerebral cortex with energy, waking it up, increasing its level of arousal and readiness for interpreting incoming information and preparing the brain for appropriate action. In some ways it is more like the gun-sight than the gun.

The video below is just a friendly reminder of the enemy within.

The RAS is involved in almost everything we do.

All learning requires at least a minimal level of arousal in order to attend, concentrate, remember and put learning into memory storage.

The RAS sits at the root of our brains and acts to filter out anything that does not support our current belief system. It controls our compulsions and works mostly in a passive mode. This makes us highly vulnerable to suggestion and propaganda, especially when it is delivered in an emotional package.

Go on a two-week newsreel diet. Put your bible away for a few weeks. Put your magazines on hold. Avoid Internet interaction for a while. Don’t even look at social media. This will help you reboot your RAS. When you return to all this noise (and you might very well choose not to) you can do so without that preconceived notion. It can be a fresh start and you can view things with ‘fresh eyes.’

For most people this means making dramatic changes to your lifestyle. This step is the one that most potential wizards fail. Don’t be one of them. It matters not to my life if you succeed or fail. It matters to you and your life. One of the reasons you are here is because you want change. Change is never easy so it takes this sort of dedication to go off grid for a while in order to allow a mental reboot and a refresh of RAS.

If you make no changes to what you expose your senses to then your brain will just do what it is used to doing. It will reinforce your preconceived beliefs about your way of life and your position within it. The minute you commit to finding truth then life will guide it to you, but you have to make the commitment. You have to want to know truth regardless of how shocking and discomforting it can be.

Filter what you expose your senses to.

By far the easiest way to make a practical application of the laws of thought-energy (or the alleged Law of Attraction) is to control what sensory input you allow into your brain in the first place.

It is not possible to see something you don’t like and have an instantaneous positive thought. So, we can make life easier by allowing less things into our life that trigger a negative thought. There are some obvious areas in everyone’s life where we can make a huge difference.

There are countless studies that demonstrate the negative effects of watching too much TV. There are some that negate those studies. It is not my remit to change your viewing habits, but I can draw a single conclusion.

If TV, social media and the internet did not influence the way you think and behave they would not exist. They exist for two primary reasons, the first is to get you to buy something and in so doing earn higher advertising commissions for the source that is trying to convince you. The second is to get you to support being for or against something. Of course, there are educational and entertainment aspects, but they are not the dominant forces and without the other would never have a platform to use.

In the first case almost everyone I meet says they are immune to advertising or influence through the media. All I have to do is look in their refrigerator to see the opposite is true. The second case is harder to prove because we are all good at spotting propaganda in a foreign culture, but hardly ever see it in our own.

For instance, if your RAS knows you are depressed about debt it will filter out the information about the joy of world cruises and make you pay particular attention to a new credit card commercial or a news bulletin on poverty. RAS is just being RAS. It will make you notice bad economic news and miss the times when the markets are all green.

If you are fretting over a lost love, RAS will filter out the program about how a single woman successfully climbed Everest without oxygen support and instead make you notice the latest romcom or valentine’s jewelry commercial. The challenge for most people is that they are so asleep they don’t even notice this reinforcement process. Being aware of it can help kick start your change. Remember small changes make a huge difference in outcomes.

What this all leads to is the art to be yourself. Just being you is spectacular. The hard part is just being. This change from doing what others approve of and then becoming just me being me is described beautifully on Jess blog:

a time gap

Oct 25Written By Jessika von Innerebner

For the past year, I was encouraged to be. Be in the moment, relax, let go. Words that are music to my ears and also, something I didn’t truly know how to do. There lies the problem, you don’t do anything.

At first, I felt irritable, floaty, fidgety, guilty – AHHH! I should be DOING something!!

Then, slowly, my whole self started to release like an unclenching fist. My body exhaled for what felt like the first time in my life.

Social media was dropped and my phone sat in the charger more often than in my hand. Long, deep, and delicious conversations blossomed with the human in front of me. Extended stretches of silence would pass and I no longer felt awkward sitting in those moments. Magic unfolded before my eyes and my intuition grew wildly strong. I even started to look different physically.

Then I understood. I felt it.

The art of being.

Being here, now.

The most important work is not rushing around. It’s not the doing. The magic happens in the spaces in between. The being.

A practice I will spend the rest of my life perfecting.

Jess also says that growing up the way she did and also being Canadian made her fearful of the word ‘No.’ When we first net I would often just say ‘No’ when asked. Sometimes it frustrated her. Other times she allowed it to feel offensive. Today she says ‘No’ to al l sorts of things and people. It is my favorite word. If you are uncomfortable saying no you’ll likely struggle to reclaim your individuality. Practice in the mirror

Being individual means being:

1. Independent of other people’s GOOD opinion. To live without needing approval

2. Being unafraid and calm to show vulnerability. Admitting your flaws and celebrating them

3. Leading by example. Being brave to experience both sides of the coin

4. Being honest with yourself about who you are and what you want. A little selfishness goes a long way

5. Being authentic even if your character, style and/or personality rub some people the wrong way. You are you. Of course, you don’t intend to cause distress but people choose to react the way they react.  You always do your best with the experience and information you have at the time. Doesn’t mean you don’t mess up. Everyone does

6. Speaking only the truth as you see it even if it turns out you were wrong.

7. A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still. So, don’t try to convince or convert anyone. Just be the best version of you.

So, I encourage you to write out what all that means to you. Here is what I would write for me right now: This is me. It matters not whether you like it

(It takes practice to be this obdurate)

I am an individual. I choose not to follow today’s politics or religions. I have my reasons. By holding my own counsel I am expressing my right to behave as an individual.

I am an individual. I don’t drink sodas or eat fast food… ever. Who cares? Well, some people do, but I don’t judge them for what they drink. I like wine. Many of my friends frown when I sit down at midday to enjoy a glass with my sandwich or omelet. I have never tried any narcotic, because they don’t interest me. I like what I like.

I am an individual. I don’t do social media because I don’t want to. Sure, I can see it might be a force for good, but I value my time and it takes up too much of it. I manage my cell phone, and it does not rule me.

I am an individual. I don’t high-five … ever. People can get offended when they are left ‘hanging.’ It makes me laugh.

I am an individual. I don’t take selfies.

I am an individual. I don’t ‘join’ things. I don’t do cocktail parties or network events. I don’t care who joins what. That is for them.

I am an individual. I prefer animals and plants to humans.

I am an individual. I prefer silence to noise. I don’t speak much and find hollow chatter exhausting.

This is me. I am an individual. I am not afraid to say NO!

These are just some of the ‘quirky’ things, what others see as flaws, that make me… well, me. Others will have labels to judge me… stubborn, aloof, arrogant, British, awkward, stuck in his ways. I consider these labels to be compliments. It means I am not like them. I am an individual.

My point? We all have the right to be ourselves. We do not have to conform to someone or society’s version of who we should be or how we should behave. I have a right to be me. You have a right to be you. I don’t need anyone’s approval. Neither do you. In an ideal world no one would judge and everybody would celebrate differences. Individuals don’t fit into an algorithm.

Free thinkers are feared and outlawed. Welcome to being an outlaw.

Take a piece of paper and write down who you are. Write down what you like about yourself. Write down what OTHERS complain about you. Circle those comments. Own them. Love them. Commit to more of the same. Whatever people don’t like about you makes you YOU.

Print out: I AM___________, and I AM SPECTACULAR.

Place it in full sight.

Because you are.

‍