Sorry I've only just caught up with this, dude!  :  )
more below
[snip]
So i think (and better, i FEEL) that is time to start walking the path, and see what is inside the rabbit hole =)
Well there are quite a few of us in there, wandering about, giggling  :  ) ...But be careful what you ask for Neo...you might just get it  :  )

First, i want to know if my routine is 'ok' to give my brain a nice workout to start develop the networks who need exersices.

Well based in my FA. (i copy here if it helps in something)


N1 and N2: F score: 36,32  O score: 29,51  N score: 34,05   Whole Brain Scores: 18,48
N3:        F score: 36,32  O score: 34,05  N score: 29,51   Whole Brain Scores: 18,48
N4:        F score: 28,56  O score: 32,64  N score: 38,76   Whole Brain Scores: 20,58
N5:        F score: 38     O score: 38     N score: 24      Whole Brain Scores: 21
N6:        F score: 26,52  O score: 36,72  N score: 36,72   Whole Brain Scores: 20,58

Think of this: you're currently using only around a third of your potential and you're already this smart! When I did my first FA it seemed like I'd been sent back in time and told 'hey, look, you're seventeen again, and you have all this potential' LOL  :  )

I will start doing exercises to N1 and N2, some hacks (control input) from N5 and of course (probably the most important at the beginning) keep anxiety low, plus start eating a little better.

So this is my routine:

Exercises to develop N1:

- Mindfulness Meditation 20-30 min (i think that in the tutorials this one is not an example of exercises to develop n1, i mean it was recommended to reduce anxiety, but i think that is meditation helps to body awareness, sensation, attention, etc, it Must train N1 too?)

If your self-care skills are ok, you don't have attention problems and you are able to relax well, it's likely that N1 only needs its habits 'tweaked' a little bit into easier ways (see below)

- Dancing: 30 min:  I have some dvd's that teach to dance, and some fun games in wii to do the same thing, i know that dancing probably trains more n2 that n1? but i put it here because of the "Sensorimotor memory" skill of N1, and with this i mean that, if i'm dancing trying to learn (memorise) a choreography it will train n1 too?

Well, dancing is exercise, and that helps all networks as we know (improved blood flow etc), but sensorimotor stuff is more about tactile sensation than motion (in fact learning to relax is what it does best). Don't forget freeform dancing too (just moving to music and letting your body do what it likes).
Sensorimotor memory is really the memory individual cells hold of the internal movements the proteins etc made in response to input; spatial (N2) skills need the addition of locomotion (external motion of the body) to recognize behaviors and send the resulting data to N3.

- Explore/Doing routine activities with eyes closed: For example, brush my teeths, take a bath, explore my bedroom etc.

Here's an experiment: get a piece of string and tie four knots in it just about tightly enough to have difficulty undoing them. Now close your eyes and try to undo two of them using only your sense of touch (using the mouth is allowed). Open your eyes and try to undo the other two (if you usually wear lenses or glasses for close work, put them on). Which is easier; eyes closed or open?

Well, now something about N1 (and i know that we have a project talked @yahoo group about it) but i still don't get it very well to how i can finds ways to train N1, is somehow the only network that i have that problem.

Start with things like getting enough sleep, sleeping & waking when your body wants to, eating when you're hungry and not eating when you are not, enjoying your sensuality, getting enough exercise, training your sense of taste to lose any sugar addiction, etc, etc). If you have problems with attention you should work on that too (although anxiety reduction will improve it).

Reading tutorial 1, if i remember well, there are a lot of exercises theorically to develop N1 related to "improve your senses" .. for vision, touch, taste, etc .. that mean that if we exercises for example our touch to be more "sensitive" .. will be get better attention, be more happy, increase our self-care, be more confident (and all the related thing from N1) ???

Not necessarily, but in some cases yes. It depends on connections and associations within the network. That's why it's best to take an all-round approach and try different exercises for different areas.

I mean, i want to be sincere here, and probably it was because i was/am with anxiety 'in charge', but when i tried it a few times, i feel so 'dumb', probably was N5 screaming that he needs some 'proofs' that doing that will help somehow.

If any exercise makes you feel unpleasant, try to figure out why. If you figure out that it's anxiety blocking you, do more anxiety reduction first and remind yourself that these are open-minded experiments to find out what works for you, and if something doesn't, you will soon stop doing it anyway. If it isn't anxiety but boredom, choose a different exercise.

It easy when you are doing some sport to develop n2 because you see it a lot more 'natural because the exercises that you realize are more 'related' to the behaviour you will gain, Almost all exercises from N2 require to move the body here and there, and because of that then you start producing more dopamine and blabla.

I can feel the same way about the other networks, but i have some problems about N1.

Many people know how to stretch a lot better than they know how to relax  :  )

Maybe i thought, well  'my senses are just fine!', i can hear, see, touch, etc etc, why i need try to do it anyway? probably is like you said in another post that 'in the land of the blind  the one-eyed man is king'?.

To try to be more clear, we need to really try our senses to get them better and better to improve N1 and increase serotonin? or are only one type of exercises?

Serious NHers are mental athletes. You do not hear an athlete begin by saying “but my legs are just fine!” -even though they are fine healthy legs. The athlete says, “My legs are just fine, now let's see how much better I can get them to perform with training.”  :  )

Let's continue ..


Exercises to develop N2:

Balance Exercises 30 min

Juggling 30 min (this one i think that it train n4, but n2 too, and my n4 network is low so i think is fine?)

Yep this is a good one.

Draw/Explore Orientation 60 min: I download google earth, and will start to 'explore it' to get better orientation of places/street/ubication of my city and other places, draw maps of it latter etc. Because yeah i'm the guy who are for example in a shooping who visit a few times but still keep asking 'where the fuc** was x place?' LOL.
Here is my question, how can i do this more n2 related? i mean, because i'm afraid to "learn" something at the 'n5 way', probably only getting data/facts in my head of streets .. ? you know what i mean .. ? Probably i need to 'practise the learning' going for a walk or with the car to that places that "i learn"?

Google earth won't help you much, and neither will N5; this is a 'doing it' skill. You need your feet on the planet outdoors in the real world and your map-drawing tools in your hands. Walk forward and count the paces to the end of your block or street. That's the start of your map. Make it very simple. Don't include steps or hills, just trace the path you take in 2 dimensions. I am upgrading N4 skills related to this at the moment so I've been sharpening up N2 with just this method  :  )
You don't have to go out especially to do it; I do it during journeys I have to make anyway.


Now taking care of the 'beast', anxiety control:

This one i want to prioritize (even above the exercises) because i want to get rid off of this bad baaad dude:

Anxiety Reduction:

- Mindfulness Meditation (can it help to get in the 'state' listening some alpha binaural beats?)

I'd go for straight alpha without the 'frills'. Keep it simple  :  )

- Walking/Running 30 min

Running never worked for me, but does wonders for some people. Try the methods out and choose your favorites.

- Smile Hack (taking from the example of tutorial 1, just smile for a few minutes in a random moment)

This really works extremely well, and I've not yet met anyone who didn't notice improvement.

- Deep Breath x 3: (20 deep breaths , one in the morning, afternoon, and night)

- Face Smile Pictures: i download from google like 50 pictures of people smiling/laughing and i will relax and see one of them for 3-4 seconds 'till i see all.

- Funny Videos: I'm hunting from youtube and editing it, to make a video of 10-15 min to make me get a laugh.

One of my favorite places to find unexpected laughs. Start collecting your favorite comedians.

- Orgasm: Having orgasm (manual or interactive lol), i don't know what is 'too much' (especially one is manual ha), but i think that before going to sleep like 2-3 a week to start.

If your body isn't interested it will soon tell you. Trust nature.  And remember that alcohol can increase the desire but diminish the performance  :  )

Well that's it about anxiety reduction.

Now .. if i need to develop networks 1 and 2, and with that it means that i need to create more neurons/connections in that network AND increase the production of the related neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine), what i try to say with this .. ? For example if we have two guys, one with a more developed N1 and N2, and the other with less developed N1 and 2, but the guy who has it more strong don't eat good (low protein foods, low neurotransmitters?) and the other one get it. That means that the first guy can have some neurons of his brain (in N1  and n2) not being activated because the lack of neurotransmitters?

If neurons don't get activated, they die off. If transmitter levels are low, but the networks are still being used, the amazing brain creates more receptors and fewer 'recycling' chemicals so that what transmitter you're short of stays in your system longer. The brain always does its best to balance and repair itself, as long as anxiety isn't high.

If that is true .. when we get more neurons and dense connections in the networks we will need more nutrients (specially protein)? is not the same 'feed' 100000 neurons to 10000000? (well same anology goes to muscle and is like that)

Neurogenesis doesn't happen in a huge scale, but synaptogenesis does. Quality and type of food are important, the most important being omega 3 for myelin production. However, we may actually need fewer transmitters when connections are dense and association is good, because cells pay attention to their neighbors and go ahead and fire with a lot less input (it's called 'priming'.)

When i'm doing the exercises ot the networks, example doing balancing to train n2, i'm getting more connections in the neurons AND at the same time producing more dopamine or just the first? i suposse it's both.

You'll get whatever the brain knows it needs. All you have to do is play; the brain does all the work for you. As long as you keep playing, you can trust it to do that  :  )

Because we can get 'better' or increase the performance in a network in two ways ..?

1º Increase the chemical related  (example see a funny movie and laugh a lot! or the easy way for a lot of people just take antidepressive to improve n1 or modafinil to improve n2) .. but that one WILL NOT increase the density of the network ... 

If you're healthy, these are not necessarily taken to 'improve', but to enhance specialist areas for specific purposes. (If someone's taking antidepressants for depression, or modafinil for narcolepsy of course, then improvement should be expected).

Taking a load of neurotransmitter stimulators to whoop up the brain has its downside if done for a long time -receptors detect the excess, think something's wrong and destroy some of the receptors to reduce levels to 'normal'. This is why we should not use drugs for enhancement on a long term basis (drugs for replacement don't cause this problem obviously). It's called 'down-regulation' and you can actually end up less sensitive (it's easily fixed by staying off the drug for a while, exercising the network and letting the brain build up its receptors again.)

2º Do the exercises related to the network and increase density AND production?

They'll increase density and connectivity. Neurotransmitter production & modulation adjusts itself to the new network (see above).

I continue ..

The hacks i should do from N5 is enough just stay away of bad news / tv / political things etc, or i need something more?

Avoid analyzing stuff. Learn instead to trust the idea that if you play, all the work will be done for you.
...Do you know the quotes, “stop trying to hit me and hit me” from the Matrix, or “Too many minds -no mind” from The Last Samurai -both refer to this idea. You know if you're riding a bicycle and you start analyzing what your arms and legs are doing and how it's all going on (“trying to hit me”), you may well fall off? But if you just empty your mind and ride the bike (“hit me”), the brain does all the work of coordinating all those muscles and bones and things. It's exactly like that.
One other important thing to consider: if you 'stay away' from anything, what are you going to replace it with?

From experience, looking at the routine, and knowing i'm planning doing it at least from monday to friday (5 times a week), how much time is needed to start seeing noticeable improvements? is more like weeks or months? Is enought this routine or need more/better exercises?

Have you got a personal plan together from T4? The progress estimate there seems to work pretty well for most.

Well that's all, input about this appreciated to start the journey!

Hope this helps. Sorry I took so long to get to you!
Best,
AR

Hi dude,
I always feel like I type way too much; it must be like getting half a book for a reply  :  )  but sometimes it's hard to be clear without the details.

I'm trusting folks to tell me if they want more or less detail, so bear that in mind.
Stay cool,
AR

Sakiro Wrote:  The software is Dragon Naturally Speaking, if you want to give it a try just tell for more info. http://www.nuance.com/talk/

I do a lot of going back and editing stuff, so it may not be so convenient. I often redraft a mail three or four times throughout before I get the finished article clear enough. Also not sure how it would cope with stuff like "acetylcholinesterase"...?
Like the idea though...
Best,
AR

Alex i think i'm starting to feel a few noticeable (positive) changes .. (i didn't expect this fast!)

I will move to the 'second phase' .. i need to incorporate exercises to my Z network (Network 4), so i'm thinking to choose Playing piano o learning to draw .. ? what is best? i'm not very shure if drawing is more n3 or n4 or both ..

I need to do this "free style"? i mean without reading a book that teach to draw or playing the piano (to avoid n5 getting in the middle?) ..

Thanks dude! probably i will email soon for that! LOL

Another one: What do you think is better in terms of improve a network, doing a Task related to a network and improve it to a 'master' level , or is better when i just start to get 'decent' at it i move to another one?

For example, now i can juggle 3 balls very easy, is better to make it harder to keep the improvement of the network (4 balls etc) or just move to another exercise?

Or taking the example above, is better to be a 'professional' player piano, or just 'amateur' playing piano AND drawing?

Is NH is better be a "Jack of all trades, master of none" (related to exercises of networks)..? i ask this because i see that we move from one to anoter exercises very fast, swapping them etc (looking at the plan from T4)

Hope i explained it well, ask if you don't understand!

Cheers

I see a "constant" in your replies from my question "be a kid again, just have fun and play!" , i think that i will write that in a paper and see it like another "golden rule" for me!

Thanks again.

Cheers