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Discussion 2: Reflect on the current course readings, your recent experiment, and Ted Talk video. Discuss something that intrigues, challenges or bothers you. What are you learning about our cognitive processes and the way the brain works? Cite the texts and use outside sources if appropriately integrated. Please post any questions or requests for clarification you may have regarding any of the concepts covered in the assigned readings for this week. The first post is meant to be a bit more scholarly or formal. Always use references here. The responses can be more casual but should also cite references when appropriate. Remember, this is your chance to demonstrate to me that you are reading the material and to engage in academic discussions about the reading material. Use personal examples if you like but link them to the literature. 
Remember, initial discussion posts are due by Thursday of each week, with response posts due by Saturday.

Adrias RESPOND TO THWE MAIN POST
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Hello everyone,
The sensory system is really fascinating. In clinical work, I have patients who seem to exhibit improvement when we work with their sensations. This often looks like having them do body scans in order to notice and experience sensations which then serves to decrease the Sympathetic Nervous system arousal response and bring a greater sense of calm which decreases muscle tension. Sometimes we use breathing techniques for this as well. In the TED Talk Titled, STROKE of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor (2012) the experience of here and now versus past and future was discussed. Dr. Bolte Taylor explains that the Left Hemisphere is constantly engaged in a linear process of sorting details from our past, projecting to our future, calculating, judging and predicting. In contrast, the right hemisphere is about the present moment, sensations, energy, connecting to space within and around with no differentiation between the two (Bolte Taylor, 2012). In considering this in the context of therapy, when one spends too much time in the left-brain, they also seem to have high SNS arousal. Conversely, bringing them into their senses activates the right-brain, lowering SNS and activating more PNS. It seems to me that balance in life is important: a balance of our nervous system and balance in our hemispheres. Dr. Bolte Taylor implores the audience to shift from a pervasive left-brain dominance into more of an appreciation for what the right-brain has to offer (Bolte Taylor, 2012).

Bernard J. Baars (1997), In the book titled, In the Theater of Consciousness; The Workspace of the mind, also discusses the sensory system in our need to be in the present while thoroughly experiencing our senses. Baars(1997) explains, Instead of having one stage in our theater of consciousness, we may have five, switching rapidly back and forth several times per second. We can then suggest a sensory consciousness network to provide the basis for qualitative conscious experience (Baars, 1997, p. 73). He goes on to describe the importance of our sensory system for both our input and our output. He asserts that our senses are vital to consciousness and, conscious ideas empower us to transcend the sensory moment (Baars, 1997, p. 86). Baars (1997) is essentially saying the same thing as Dr. Bolte Taylor in that it is vital that we experience the present moment with all of our senses in order to create balance and opportunity for our left brain to reach its potential in creating our time, our expression, and our interaction.

The book titled, Smart Moves; Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head, by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D. (1995) discusses the sensory system and how it relates to learning. She explains that The richer our sensory environment and the greater our freedom to explore it, the more intricate will be the patterns for learning, thought and creativity (Hannaford, 1995, p. 30). As a therapist, I do recognize the importance of our sensory system and its influence on how we experience the world around us and our internal environment which has a significant effect on our physical and mental health.

References

Baars, B. J. (1997). In The Theater of Consciousness. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Bolte Taylor, J. (2012). STROKE of Insight. TEDTalks.Retrieved January 19, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTrJqmKoveU
Hannaford, C. (1995). Smart Moves; Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head. Arlington, VA: Great Ocean Publishers, Inc.