Silvie+Maryl | Upgrading Minds, Transforming Lives

Artwork by Jennifer Maestre

Since we live in a dual reality (up/down, white/black, hot/cold), most of us are conditioned to thinking of ourselves as either left brain (intellectual) or right brain (creative). Although we are usually dominant on one side, this does not mean we don’t posses qualities from both hemispheres. We all have a creative side, but some of us just don’t choose to fly that flag – or harness its power. Read More…

Exercise: Want more efficient muscles? Eat your spinach, says a new study. According to research published in Cell Metabolism, nitrate, a compound found in vegetables and especially in green leaves, helps healthy people consume less oxygen while exercising. This happens because the nitrate in vegetables mixes with friendly bacteria in the mouth and forms nitric oxide, which in turn helps the cardiovascular system by opening up our blood vessels to lower blood pressure. The study says that, in addition to this benefit, the nitrates make mitochondria – the powerhouses of the cell -  more efficient. Interestingly, the researchers say that since the benefits of nitrates depend on friendly bacteria in the mouth, mouthwashes are not good if you want this system to work because they kill good and bad bacteria. Read More…

Universal Laws explain natural behavior and the creative process, how things come to exist. One of these laws is the Law of Gender, which states: “Everything has its masculine and its feminine principles”. This principle reveals that all of Creation has both male and female energy. Regardless of sexual preference, men have a feminine side, women have masculine side, and everyone would benefit from learning more about his or her own “shadow self”, as Carl Jung used to call the opposite sex internal persona in each of us. Read More…

The brain is the center of our nervous system, the commanding officer for action, sensation, and the interpretations of these. Our brains allow us to feel, walk, and talk, to taste good food and identify rotten food, and every other adaptation we have developed over time in order to survive in an increasingly complex environment. A healthy brain is one that allows us to live a full life – it is the host of our minds, and the source of the words and actions derived from the thoughts created in our minds.

Here are some interesting things regarding the brain: Read More…

Brain: No more excuses – seems our brains can be taught to control cravings. According to researchers at Yale University, standard therapeutic techniques decrease cravings of cigarette smokers by regulating activity in two separate areas of the brain. In the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, smokers who are taught cognitive strategies, such as thinking about the long-term consequences of smoking, show increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with cognitive control and rational thought. They also show decreased activity in areas of the striatum, a region associated with drug craving and reward-seeking behavior. “This shows that smokers can indeed control their cravings, they just need to be told how to do it,” said Hedy Kober, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study. More research is being conducted to see if the same goes for other types of drugs and cravings. Read More…

Ah, the scent of a flower, the sight of a sunset, the sound of the ocean. The taste of fresh fruit…the touch of a loved one. Your senses – smell, sight, hearing, taste and touch – are your tools to experience the external reality on this planet, and while you may not think twice as you use them daily, you would definitely notice if one of them were impaired. Read More…