Lyrics & Your Brain

The psychological implication of words is enormous.

Words we hear in the morning can subconsciously guide our behavior throughout the rest of the day.

Happy song = good mood.

Sad song = bad mood.

Songs about anger, cheating, drinking, or drugs can take us somewhere we weren’t aware of, and probably don’t want to go.

Science & Stuff

Did you know that if you just looked at a list of negative words, it can dramatically affect your blood pressure and mood? It can increase anxiety, deepen depression, and release stress hormones in to not only your brain, but to the person speaking the words as well?

50% of you are saying, “oh wow.”

The other 50% are saying, “bulls***!”

Your brain can’t “not” think of something. When you are discussing things like: poverty, sadness, death, illness, they all cause our brains to react in a negative way. Just think about when you see a sad movie. Nothing happened to you, but you don’t feel great afterwards do you? No one walked out of Schindler’s List skipping and smiling (I hope).

Why does that happen? Because what we ingest with our eyes, and ears, the things we let come out of our mouths, have a huge impact on us.

If you are about to take a test, or have a big interview, you will do worse if you tell yourself to not fail, don’t screw it up, don’t be an idiot. Why? Because how does your brain interpret not failing? Not screwing up? Not being an idiot? It doesn’t! It locks in on: failing, screwing up, and idiocy. Guess what? You just f***ed up that meeting or test!

Now that we have some background, let’s get to the point.

Music

It’s important to know what you are taking in. From food to music. Good in, good out.

I absolutely believe we can change the outcomes of our days by what we take in. I am going to focus on music because it is such a huge part of our lives.

Can what we listen to truly affect us?

If so, what are we listening to? What is our music setting us up for?

Let’s find out.

I am going to look up the top 5 songs on iTunes for today (9/19/16) and I am going to pull out the “power” words from the lyrics. Let’s see how they will be guiding our brains after listening to them.

Disclaimer: This is no reflection on the lyrics themselves. Most of these have beautiful words and wording. This is just about thoughts and reactions.

5. I Hate You, I Love You by gnash. This song is about cheating. When you listen to it, you are going to be put in to a cycle of thoughts about people you shouldn’t have messed around with and did, people you shouldn’t be messing around with and are, or people you haven’t messed around with but want to. How do you think that’s is going to go for you? Starting the day thinking about cheating? Or, thinking about being cheated on? All the pain that comes from that. Hell, that can get you worked up whether or not you have ever been cheated on. There is nothing beautiful about cheating. It’s ugly. Done in the dark, on the low, out of the light, ugliness.

You take what you hear, and what you see, and your body and mind react. Is this what you want to react to? Cheating? Destroying trust? Breaking hearts? Turmoil? Pain?

4. Gold by Kiiara. Full disclaimer, I had to look these lyrics up. I had no idea what the hell she was saying. And even “fuller” disclaimer, I read the lyrics and I still don’t really know what the hell she is talking about. Anyhoo, I have the general idea, I think. She is going out with an a**hole. What does that do for you? Makes you think about all the a**holes you went out with. It might get you angry all over again. You might look at your current relationship and think they are an a**hole! Maybe they would tell you if the “roof was burning,” but maybe they didn’t tell you something else. Now you are mad. Gold teeth? Tasting like money? I don’t know, but it sounds tacky and ugly, so now you are thinking about tacky ugly stuff. Let’s not skip the fact that she humped the dudes’ brother. He was a “good replacement for you.” Now you are listening to a cheater, in a bad relationship, and she can’t let him go. Have a good day!!

We have only done two songs, and both are talking about being in s*** relationships and sticking with them. Empowering? Uplifting? Me thinks no.

3. My Way, by Calvin Harris. “You were the one thing in my way.” This sounds empowering. He uses the word “were,” as in, not any more. But, he says that he made his move, it was all about the other person, and now he is far removed from everything. That’s no bueno. We are now 3 for 3 on love being stupid. Loving the wrong person, love not working out, etc. Is there any wonder why the divorce rate is so high? The first 3 songs are about s*** relationships. 2 of them involving cheating. Yikes!!

These are all seeds being planted in our brains. Whether you know it or not, these are affecting your relationships. They are digging up old, painful memories. Honestly, there are no good memories or imagery that can come from any of these songs. Calvin’s is close, but he is basically saying following his heart F’ed him over.

What are we doing to ourselves?

2. Heathens, by twenty one pilots. I just imagine someone listening to this on the subway, on the way to work in the morning. “You’ll never know the freakshow/psycholpath/murderer next to you.” What a great way to say good morning!! Paranoia! Being wary of groups that you don’t belong to. With all the attacks by groups around the world, this isn’t exactly reassuring. This song creates feelings of tension, anxiety and fear. I am sure it would be great with your buddies on Friday, but this is a F everyone else kind of song when you are by yourself. Everyone is the enemy. Everyone is suspicious. I am dangerous. I am not to be f’ed with. And all of this, with your morning coffee. Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays.

1. Closer, by The Chainsmokers. You don’t need the girl. She spends more than she makes, which means she is superficial and focused on her image. She is a thief, she is an ex, but they still bang. Again, bad relationship. People being used. People taking themselves too lightly, lacking values. People living with a general disrespect of themselves, and you are taking it all in. Their words, their thoughts, become your thoughts, potentially your words, and your actions.

Each time your hear something bad, you become more and more immune to it. It can be drinking, cheating, drugs, anything. You hear it and become desensitized to it. If you are desensitized hearing it, you are desensitized seeing it, then thinking it, then sooner or later you are doing it. You are what you consume, who you are around, the things you take in through your eyes and ears. Think about that. It’s time to listen with more of a purpose.

What Does This All Mean?

I don’t think that any of you reading this are like any of the people in these songs. That being said, these songs inject the thought process of these people, who are not like you, in to your head. That’s where I see the issue arising.

The scariest part is it’s cyclical.

If you are sad and you listen to Counting Crows (circa 1994), there is no way you will feel better. Again, amazing lyrics, beautiful songs, but you are not coming out of that funk with Mr. Duritz and company. Hell, even if you aren’t sad, CC is bringing you down. You feed your brain what it eventually produces. It hears and sees sad, it produces sad. Make sense?

Example:

I am white as f***. But when I was riding around in 1998 listening to DMX, you would have thought I was a damn Ruff Rider. Saying crazy s***. Doing crazy s***. I was an idiot. Talking tougher than I was. Repping my “hood” like I wasn’t from the damn suburbs in Silicon Valley. It was ridiculous looking back on it. Just to be clear, I was not one of those white boys that dropped the N word because I listened to DMX, Busta Rhymes or Andre Nickatina. Always hated those idiots that did that. But I was still an idiot. The words came in, they looked around, made themselves and home, and settled down.

Music Has So Much Power

What we take in through our eyes and ears has so much influence over us.

It’s a vicious cycle if we allow it.

We take it in, we think about it, and before we know it, it is coming out of our mouths, it is seeping through our actions. We are it and it is us.

Think about your music. Rap, country, pop, whatever. What are they talking about? What are they putting in your brain? What are you allowing to put in your brain? Drugs? Drug dealing? Drinking? Cheating? Good relationships? Bad relationships? Violence? Fear?

You are what you eat.

You are what you watch.

You are what you listen to.

It’s time to do all of those things with purpose. So we can become who we want.

Joey

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30 Days Of Genius Blog: Kelly Starrett

There has never been a time when humans were more focused on their bodies. Muscles, tissues, the brain, recovery, etc. We are breaking it down and focusing on it like never before. Just like everything else, understanding the basics is the foundation to a healthy body. Small knowledge leads to large knowledge the same way small problems lead to big problems. Understand the micro of your body, to get it producing at the macro.

I have taken his interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis, extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next level, or at least a different level than the one they are on.

Please enjoy.

What Does My Body Have To Do With “Big C” Creativity?

One word: EVERYTHING

It’s all connected.

Your body tells your brain what to think.

Smile, you will feel happier.

Slouch in your seat all day at work. When do you slouch normally? When you are sad, or depressed, or feeling vulnerable. When you sit like that all day at work, you are telling your brain you are sad, which means your brain starts thinking sad. You breathe differently, and your body works differently. 

Sad people store fat more, and are unhealthier. And that all can start with your posture! Think about that!

It’s all reciprocal. Your body and mind are a team. They talk to each other.

Standing tells your brain that you need to focus, pay attention, because things going on are important.

How do you work all day? Are you sitting or standing?

Do you have a tough time getting through the day? Might want to try standing.

Is Sitting Really That Bad?

I’ll put it this way, it’s more dangerous than bears.

That sounds funny, but it’s true, at least by the numbers.

People lose sight of the fact that we are physical machines. Our bodies are a work of art. We just finished the Olympics in Rio. All of those movements, from swimming to gymnastics, long distance running to weightlifting, all of those are using our full range of motion. Basically speaking, our bodies are supposed to do those things! Think about that as you knees creak getting up from the couch, and you can’t get your arms above your head to get the cookies off the top shelf. (by the way, pain is not normal. Don’t trick yourself in to thinking it is your age. It is because you are not treating your body right).

This all comes from a sedentary lifestyle. We need to move more. In fact, when we are not moving, we are not being who we are supposed to be.

Sitting is the new smoking.

We need to intentionally move more, and intentionally take care of this “machine” that we have.

From sleep to stress, posture to tissue work, we need to take care of ourselves. Our bodies are an amazing gift that gives back to us the better we take care of it.

How Do I Take Better Care Of My Body?

Move more. What else can you do? Take the stairs? Walk to the store? When can you work in more movement?

Here is a fun little fact, non-exercise movement actually burns more calories than exercise. Those little step counting gadgets don’t seem so lame now do they?

Find 10 things you can do to be more active each day than you are right now.

You will feel better and be healthier the more you move. Your lymphatic system, a major defense in your immune system, needs the muscles to move in order to pump blood through them. They are not a part of the cardiovascular system. Ever notice that your more active friends don’t get as sick as much? That’s why!

Make your environment work for you. Don’t make it easy. Throw away the chair at your desk. If there is not chair, you have to stand!

A lot of this is more about undoing a lot of bad habits than gaining good ones. You conditioned yourself to be sedentary, you need to undo that.

Eat healthy.

Sleep well. I don’t mean take Ambien, Benadryl, alcohol, or smoking weed to go to bed. I mean real, naturally good sleep. Cold room, blackout curtains, no phones in the room, only clocks with red lights, limiting caffeine after noon, using eye masks and earplugs. That kind of sleep.

Notice where you are stressed and fix it. Stress is like carrying around a 50lb backpack. You may be able to handle it, but it is still weighing you down.

The Benefits To Health

You can focus more, pay better attention, your productivity will go up, you will feel better which means you will feel better, you will perform better, and best of all, it’s free.

Just remember that little problems lead to big problems. Feet, ankles, knees, hips, and back are all connected. Issues in any of those areas can lead to issues in all of those areas.

Use foam rollers, volleyballs, or anything else you can find. Move it around your body. Roll around on it. Wherever it hurts, that’s where you need work. Pain to compression is not normal. Give yourself little massages every day, loosen your body up feel better.

Quotes

“If we don’t move, we aren’t being who were are supposed to be.”

“Practice should become the standard.”

“Intentionally move more.”

Kelly Starrett Links

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Chase Jarvis Links

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Joey Links

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Porn

this article contains graphic language

It is ironic that Pamela Anderson is launching a new campaign against porn.

She was my “gateway drug” to the media genre, even before the sex tape.

If it weren’t for her no one would have ever given a s*** about Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardashian would just be some chick in LA.

Thanks Pam!

Even though her fame trajectory took off the less and less clothes she wore, she might be the perfect spokesperson for this movement. She knows porn from the inside out (no pun intended, well, maybe a little).

My General Thoughts On Porn

I don’t even understand how porn exists. Honestly. I mean, I get why people watch it and look at it, hot women, naked, fulfilling fantasies, blah blah blah, etc. I just don’t understand how in the world you can talk a woman in to doing any of that stuff on camera in the first place.

Half the stuff they do in porn you can’t talk the woman in to doing in private, let alone for the entire “interwebs” to see.

I know the money is good (at least I hope), but holy s***. You are taking the most intimate thing you can do with another person (or two depending on the style of porn you are in to), and putting a camera right up in there, in the middle of all the action, and then putting it all over the web.

To me, that’s crazy!

It’s insane!

Just understanding the mindset of the girls the first time they do it would be fascinating.

Obviously after the first time, they keep doing it because that way they can tell themselves that it’s not that bad, so they don’t s*** on themselves for their poor choices in life. But that first time? You know that never goes away, right? Google is forever ladies.

I don’t get it.

Sucking d*** on camera?

Sucking two or three d***s at the same time on camera?

WTF are you thinking?

Even for the dudes.

What does your resume look like after being in porn? Craziness.

Even if you get paid, there is no honor in being a whore.

The same way there is no honor in being a drug dealer.

How you make your money is more important than how much money you make.

Use your brains and the gifts God gave you, not just the holes. (too graphic? Sorry).

The Serious Side Effects Of Porn

This may sound crazy.

You may be thinking,

“What’s wrong with looking at some titties every once in a while?”

“It’s safe, it’s better than cheating.”

“I still come home to my wife (or insert whatever your living situation is here)”

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

It is not safe, at all.

You think it’s just effecting you and your box of tissues, but it is actually re-wiring your brain.

Now there is good rewiring and bad rewiring.

How do you decipher between good and bad rewiring? Well, when the thing that is rewiring your brain is naked, or humping, or seems physically impossible while naked and or humping, on top of the fact that you don’t want people to know you are watching it, it’s bad rewiring.

Are we all on the same page?

Good.

Let’s get to the meat and potatoes.

Science Time

Porn releases dopamine, and endorphins in to your brain. Your brain then connects those happy, dopamine, chemicals to porn. Essentially creating a pathway in your brain called “porn makes you happy.” It also releases norepinephrine, which enhances your focus. Now you are telling your brain to pay attention, that what you are doing is important. Porn has now been engrained in your brain as an important, happy making device.

Let’s dig a little deeper.

When you ejaculate, oxytocin and serotonin are released. What you just watched and did made you feel calm, relaxed, and happy. You basically just did heroin by watching porn and jacking off.

Seriously, make this connection: Watching porn does similar things to your system that heroin does.

Well, it’s better than heroin, right?

Please stop trying to talk your way in to more porn!

It’s bad. It’s all bad. Drugs and porn. Porn and drugs.

Relationships

Instead of experiencing all of those wonderful chemical releases with your spouse or significant other, you are experiencing them with Big Titty Tina, or Little Anal Annie, or whatever person you are “viewing” that day.

This is also what happens with cheating. You are putting yourself in to a situation when you are releasing a rush of high potent, mood shifting, focus driving, chemicals in to your system with someone other than the person you should be releasing them with. That, combined with the chemicals released from doing “something bad”, creates a chemical hormone bomb. You are basically training yourself to be a piece of s***. Nice work.

Once these chemicals get locked in (neural pathways created) to a person, event or place other than your spouse or significant other, the pathways are set. You have just created a paved road to straight to Not Good Town in your brain. This is something VERY difficult to undo.

Your Brain On Drugs, Any Questions?

A more comfortable example of the way pathways can be created in the brain is with sugar. The way your brain connects energy and alertness with sugar, which means when you are tired you have cravings for s*** food, because your brain knows it gives you quick energy, you are connecting a physical and mental high with porn. When you want to feel better, when you want to relax, when you want to feel the dopamine levels spike, you turn to porn. You turn to millions and millions of pages, photos, and videos of porn, all right at your fingertips. Thousands of different women doing thousands of different things. When you get tired of one there is another one right around the corner to keep those dopamine levels high. It is quicksand, and you are walking right in to it.

Have you seen The Princess Bride? You are in The Fire Swamp, but Wesley is not there to jump in after you.

Just like drugs and alcohol, if you keep coming back to this “high” your brain will stop producing as much dopamine. Just like the heroin or cocaine addict, you start needing more to get the same high you did before. More porn, more intense porn, different types of porn, who knows? But it effects all aspects of your life. Because your dopamine receptors are not as active, regular, day-to-day things that used to make you happy or excited don’t anymore. Your dopamine receptors don’t distinguish between boobies and baseball. All they know is they don’t need to respond as much anymore. You are frying your happiness the way someone who took too much ecstasy does. Now you are like a heroin, cocaine and ecstasy addict. Happy Monday!

Addiction damages the brain!!

Do you believe me yet?

Look at Antony Weiner, talk about an addicted dude. Get help mother f***er!!

That’s what we can turn ourselves in to by not taking this as seriously as we do drugs. His “high” is sexting. Others are just porn, or just movies, or whatever. But it manifests itself in to your daily life. I bet Mr. Weiner (which ironically sounds like a great porn name) started out watching porn. Just jacking off in his room or whatever, then it got less stimulating, he was releasing less dopamine, it didn’t feel as good or exciting, so he stepped it up. Viola!! Sexting!

He is an addict.

But just like with drugs, he trained himself in to being an addict by walking down a road he never should have been on.

And boom goes the dynamite.

The Challenge

How many days can you go without watching porn?

I don’t mean you don’t look at the crazy stuff you used and switch it softcore, or lingerie models instead, I mean cold turkey.

Think you can do 30 days?

Try it.

No porn, no lingerie ads, no swimsuit editions, no jacking off, no nothing.

For the next 30 days, you are porn free.

Have sex with your spouse or significant other as much as you want.

But no porn.

Can you do it?

Of course you will say yes now, but how about tonight, or tomorrow? What about in a few days?

That’s when you know if you have an issue or not, when you can’t do it.

Seen the Seinfeld episode?

How long can you last?

Try to go 30 days, and take notice of the effects. I bet your relationship will be better. I bet your sleep will be better. I know your sex will be better. It will feel better. Not only mentally but physically. You de-sensitize your gear when you “tie one off.” Sex will feel better.

How could it feel any better?

By not jacking off!

30 days.

If you make the whole 30 days I would love to hear from you.

If you don’t make it at all I would love to hear from you.

Have Skype? Come on my podcast, lets talk about it. Let’s help other people (mostly men) get over 

this, help them make their lives better.

This issue is as serious as drugs.

It’s so serious, one of the drugs (Pamela Anderson) is turning on the other drugs.

Marijuana is telling on Coke (not a-cola), H, and X.

It’s time to take notice.

Joey

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Sleep Better Now

Want to sleep better?

Of course you do.

You clicked on this link.

If you are comfortable looking like a tool for the couple hours before bed, I have a $8.95 solution to your problem.

I do not work for the company that makes them.

I do not work for Amazon.

But I bought these a little over a year ago. I use them. I love them.

They are blue light blocking glasses.

You have seen them before, but never for sleep. They have orange lenses, and, guess what? They block blue light.

What’s The Big Deal About Blue Light?

It keeps your cortisol production going.

What’s the big deal about that?

When you are producing cortisol, you can’t produce melatonin for up to 4 hours after you shut it off.

What’s the big deal with that?

Melatonin is what allows you to get good, restful, rejuvenating sleep.

Ah!

Yeah.

For most of you, you are only getting 5–6 hours of sleep anyways. Subtract 4 hours before you start producing melatonin, and you are only getting 1–2 hours of rejuvenating sleep every night.

That’s no bueno.

That’s muy no bueno.

Where Does Blue Light Come From?

TVs, computers, phones, office lighting, gym lighting, etc. Pretty much everywhere. You guys stay up watching TV, or Snapchatting, or Instagramming, and you are keeping your cortisol production on high, then you try to go to bed.

You may fall asleep, but it’s not good sleep.

Why?

Because you are not producing melatonin.

Solution?

Pop your blue light blocking glasses on a few hours before bed, shut down your cortisol production, and have some solid, melatonin rich, rejuvenating sleep.

Easy, huh?

I know.

The first few nights I used them I felt like I had taken codeine the night before. Not codeine and Sprite, not sizzurp, I am not Rolando McClain, or JaMarcus Russel. Not a NFL fan? Fine. I am not Weezy (Lil Wayne) either.

Nope. Just had a rough cough and wasn’t sleeping. Codein knocks out. Great sleep.

Just like a melatonin rich, blue light blocking glass wearing right before bed, kind of sleep.

You can thank me later.

Have a great weekend!

Get some rest! Some of that Good Sleep!

Joey

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