Right Brain Start Up 1

Right Brain Aerobics

TM
Meditation/Mental Focus Exercise:

Right Brain Start Up (RBSU)


Excerpted from Right Brain Aerobics
TM
:
The Coming Age of the Right Brain


____________________________________________


Every now and then go away, even briefly,
have a little relaxation, for when you come
back to your work your judgment will be
surer; since to remain constantly at work
will cause you to lose power.

- Leonardo Da Vinci

____________________________________________













2007-9 S.H. Rodman
Right Brain Start Up 2



Right Brain Aerobics
TM

Meditation/Mental Focus Exercise:
Right Brain Start Up (RBSU)
_________________________________________________________________


1. Description

A fundamental practice simple, easy-to-learn
Right Brain Start Up exercise to activate greater
right brain activity anytime, anywhere. Switch
gears for a few minutes whenever needed.
A creative way to begin the day upon waking, to
begin the workday, or before an intense meeting or
starting a new project.
Repeating several times a day is equivalent to
multiple short meditations. This lowers stress and
interrupts unproductive overwork and burnout
that can cause mistakes, health problems, and
reduced productivity.
Think of this as a time to reboot and recharge
mentally.
The benefits, values, and applications of this exercise also apply to most of the Right Brain
Aerobics
TM
exercises.


2. Steps/Instructions:

As you go through Right Brain Aerobics
TM
Exercises, practice as if you will be teaching this
ideally some of you will. The steps are presented in packets of 3s but you may vary this with
fewer or more as you learn the technique. You can adapt and quietly integrate it into daily
practice. Do not discount the impact of simple steps to stop habitual responses and conceive
more creative alternatives.

Summary Outline

1. 3 Changes in Body Focus/Movement: Stop and notice, move or stretch, sit and
focus.
2. 3 Sips of Water
3. 3 Deep Breaths
4. 3 Focuses of Gratitude
5. 3 Inventories: Physical body, emotional/mental state, environment culminating in
visualizing the ideal state.
6. 3 Affirmations of Yourself/Your Ability: Beauty, sensuality, intelligence; add the 5
elements of Rule #2 for stronger effect.
7. 3 Minutes of Silence: Be silent, do nothing, focus on nothing; a short mental
vacation for rejuvenation and refreshment. (If in a group just be silent and relax for 3
minutes, even closing the eyes if possible.)

Enter next desired activity or deeper state.

Ra-Photography, iStock.com
Right Brain Start Up 3




Detailed Instructions_________________________________________________________

1. 3 Changes in Body Focus/Movement:

Stop whatever youre doing. Notice it. Stop for a minute. Notice what
youre doing; observe where you are. Put down the pen or the phone, stop texting or
computing or talking. Look around. (If in a group, you might take a break.) Find
a private quite place if possible, but you can take a short mental break even during
a meeting just by adjusting and abbreviating some of the exercise.

Why? Interrupting what youre doing and looking at it, noticing it
increases your awareness of its real nature. It may be a habitual pattern or
knee-jerk response. Stopping and noticing is excellent preparation for
beginning something new, for infusing meetings with greater creativity. It
opens up new space. You can also use a Right Brain Start Up to interrupt a
potential outburst of anger -- and lower your blood pressure.

Move or Stretch. Move, shift or stretch for a minute. This changes perspective
and moves both parts of the brain as well as the body into synchronous new action; it
changes breathing which can impact brain state (see Appendix References, Stanislav
Grof, The Holotropic Mind) and changes gears. Walk down the hall or outside
(even better). Get a glass of water, move to another seat, take a bathroom break.

Why? Brain, mind, and breath become engaged and synchronized in a new
gear. It changes your view point or physical perception point. More oxygen
goes to the brain; awareness is more fluid and flexible. Walking or moving
can enhance the ability to make better decisions.

Sit Still and Mentally Focus in a New Way: Now you are ready to begin. Sit
still in the place youve chosen. Close your eyes if possible or simply relax them
slightly open.

2. 3 Sips of Water: Take 3 sips of water or more. Water is a signal to the body to be cool. It
is nourishing, refreshing, and regenerative, which is how you want the body and brain to feel.
(It is no accident in drama and literature that a character is often told to bring a glass of
water to a stressed individual.)

3. 3 Deep Breaths: Take 3 deep breaths, hold the breath for a couple of seconds and let the
breath out slowly. Some recommend making a deep sighing sound when you release the
breath slowly (See Appendix References, Tom Kenyon, Acoustic Brain Research).

4. 3 Focuses of Gratitude: The most important step in activating the right brain and a
different view point. Focus on 3 (or more) things that you are thankful for, that provide
richness in your life. Concentrate on deepening feelings of gratitude for personal gifts of life
and family as well as the great things about your work that you appreciate. This moment of
global appreciation brings you gradually into a more open mental state with a more
expansive perspective, a larger sense of the scope of self from which more creative ideas can
be derived. This step is key to interrupting feelings of irritation, anger, and anxiety.

5. 3 Inventories: Take inventory. Ask yourself how you are. Others can see your physical
representation of how you feel whether you are aware or not. Practice being just as aware of
your part in creating the social and mental landscape in the room; then you can be more
effective. Even in a meeting you can quickly take inventory of physical/emotional responses.
Right Brain Start Up 4




i. Physical Body: Quickly feel your body from top to bottom; if anything feels tense
or in pain, relax. Imagine how nice it feels when your whole body is relaxed and
not in pain. Focus on your right brain and imagine it being very active, filled with
light, spaciousness and inspiration.

ii. Emotional/Mental State: Quickly assess how youre feeling emotionally, your
mental state. If you are upset or tired, just be aware of it and that you are probably
transmitting this to others. Imagine how you feel when you are happy and relaxed.
Get into the happy, relaxed feeling for a moment. Assess whether you are in an
open and receptive mental state, an altered state of extreme calm or extreme
creativity/productivity. Imagine being in a fully balanced emotional and mental
state.

iii. The Environment, the States of Others: Notice and feel your physical
environment. Notice who is nearby and whether you have full awareness of all of
the players. Quickly assess how you are perceiving and receiving their physical and
emotional states. Imagine and feel what an ideal creative environment/meeting
would be like; feel an enjoyment of it. (This can bring about a change in mood if
others pick up your feelings of enjoyment and creativity. See also the Affirmation
section.)

6. Affirm 3 Things about Yourself: Affirm yourself silently by using unqualified affirmation
of your beauty, sensuality, and intelligence (See definition of Affirmation in the
Affirmation section) You can add more; be as poetic and outrageous as you like about your
abilities and creativity. This is simple appreciation of yourself; not that you are better than
others, but that you are inherently a beautiful, sensual, intelligent human being. If you have
time, affirm yourself by stating the assumptions of Rule #2.

1. Today I will have an idea that no one else has ever had.
2. Today I will create a strategy that could change everything in my life, in our
organization, and on this planet for the better.
3. Today I am a creative genius.
4. Today I can be happy beyond my wildest dreams.
5. Today I have no limits; my right brain and left brain are unlimited.

(Note: If you have extra time, affirm others mentally. To expand consciousness, affirm an
adversary, finding in your mind positive abilities and potential. Release the adversarial
perception for a moment such that right brain and left brain may now have some space to
let go of any tight hold on limiting and unproductive perceptions -- long enough to serve
as fertile ground for a productive solution.)

7. Be silent for 3 Minutes: Dont do anything and release all focus." Before you return to
your task or meeting focus, have 3 minutes of silence if possible (or more or less, according
to circumstances). Do nothing. There may be noise or activity around you, but you can still
access internal stillness and take a 3-minute vacation; if possible to close your eyes and rest
them for a couple of minutes while doing this, all the better. Now you are ready to return to
your work or enter a deep right brain meditation/mental focus or intuitive exercise. You will
have then stretched your mind with alternate mental focus and pulled in silence and stillness.

Take a deep breath and enter your desired activity: Write or journal any creative or intuitive
ideas which occur during the start up period. Sometimes the right brain gets backed up with
insights and creative threads. Train the mind to more frequently access these creative streams by
Right Brain Start Up 5



recording this input, even if it is only one idea. The longer you write after refreshed and recharged, the
more right brain creative-intuitive input will be accessible.


____________________________________________________________

Every now and then go away, even briefly, have a little relaxation, for
when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer; since to
remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power.

- Leonardo Da Vinci

____________________________________________________________


3. Feedback/Results: Write/Share/Collaborate

As noted in the last step, journal any creative thoughts, ideas, or insights. If you are participating in a
Right Brain Aerobics
TM
training, share your experience as instructed by the Trainer. These can be
important cues that creative solutions may be waiting in the back of your mind.


4. Purpose/Benefits

The term right brain start up is used to mean preparation for changing mental focus, activating the
right brain, evoking new theories, perspectives, inventiveness, perceptiveness, calmness. The
technique can be adapted and used by anybody, anytime, anywhere. The value of a simple repeatable
process for engaging right brain intuition and calmness can have bottom line impact in subtle aspects
beyond those noted below.

Bottom line impact potential: With boosts in contemplative, creative problem-solving abilities, a
greater number of new solutions can occur and the potential for faster, more harmonious delivery
and greater productivity. Value includes:

Quick technique that can be used by staff to quickly move into creative-intuitive mode,
inspired problem-solving mode.
Technique to adapt at run time in the midst of a crisis, a meeting, a stalled project, an lull
in creative thinking. No props or preparation needed.
Technique used regularly can lead to expanded perspectives in which more solutions are
resident and openness to change is greater.
Technique to facilitate calmer judgment and decision-making
Technique applied effectively by a group can reduce the tension and expressions of frustration
which normally delay time-to-delivery for projects or hamper teamwork.
Personal use of techniques can mean lower anxiety, fewer mistakes, better ability to
concentrate, to focus positively and boost immune system and health.
Technique can be used to interrupt hostile confrontations which might be costly to business
and personal success.
Bottom line can be impacted by more efficient and harmonious productivity, increase in
creative choices, fewer stressful responses and mistakes, fewer personnel problems and client
problems.
Personal Performance Impact: High stress can impact general health as well as contribute to
early ageing (High Stress Levels Linked to Cellular Aging, Scientific American, November 2004;
Right Brain Start Up 6



High-stress lifestyles threaten heart disease epidemic, The Independent, April 20, 2007. See
Appendix References)
Technique for quick relaxation, taking a break in a new way, refresh and rejuvenate mind
and body, affirming self-confidence, balance, reducing burn out, mistake-prone performance.
Technique can be used for going to sleep more quickly, getting deeper rest.
Technique used often can mean fewer health problems, reduced tension, ability to relax when
the time is available.
Technique can be used to interrupt repetitive stress such as carpel tunnel, interrupt sitting
circulation problems.
Technique can be used as a reminder to breathe deeply, increase oxygen to the body often.


Different Ways of Using the Technique:

Activate a more creative right brain mind set with more positive outlook to spark more
frequent innovation in products and process.
Re-focus with greater concentration and awareness when focus has been lost.
Interrupt or clear unproductive mental tracks and emotions normally hard to shake and
impact others; clear the mental page for new horizons and creativity.
Calm the mind, refresh, rejuvenate.
Switch gears more quickly into creative mode when addressing a new challenge, get back
on track.
Reduce anxiety. Increase coherence of focus and communication in any situation.
Better handle relationship tensions and personal interaction.
Rejuvenate a feeling of healthy well-being and balance even when tired.
Promote a sense of self-confidence, ability to achieve, to be creative with others
Increase awareness of environment, personal feelings of emotion/physical responses,
sensitivity to the feelings of others.
Prepare for interviews, recruiting new staff, become more personable -- contribute to the
proper mode to retain staff and create smoothly running environments.
Use as a time out in communication with family and children.
Interrupt angry outbursts and habitual knee-jerk reactions that dampen productivity.
Feel more personally inspired, more able to inspire teams and colleagues.
Adapt creatively for your own special uses providing a framework for right brain creativity.

The value proposition when many apply these techniques can be high in an environment that is
more creative, more productive, gets faster results, fosters more positive problem-solving,
energizes innovation, is more sustaining.


Some Applications for Managers, Parents, Teachers, Scientists, Performers, Health Care
Specialists:

This simple start up exercise -- or your own personal adaptation of it -- can be taught and used
to begin a team meeting or staff meeting. Good technique to help a group re-focus after a break.
When the goal is teaching and learning, this technique, particularly repeated affirmation, can
effectively increase learning abilities as it enhances self-esteem, creativity, and awareness.
Parenting techniques include many kinds of time outs. Teaching children an easy technique
to quickly move into right brain creative mode or meditative states can be a skill that can last
and impact a lifetime.
When working with children, using drawing or painting, making music or dancing or other
creative efforts following a right brain start up can interrupt anxiety and overactivity, begin to
associate creative acts with calming down and a feeling of well-being. Practicing the simple self-
affirmations and affirmation of others can be comforting and foster expansive attitudes.
Right Brain Start Up 7



For performance in the creative arts, sports, etc., a quick warm up to prepare mentally and
engage increased right brain intuition and creativity even before beginning physical warm ups
can increase their value.
Use to increase the value of short breaks allowed in sports or performance, promoting greater
rejuvenation and refreshment at deeper levels. Performance visualizations can have a more
powerful effect.
Quick, easy right brain creative-intuitive-meditative exercise could be used by health care
specialists with many applications as a low-risk non-chemical technique for greater well-being,
especially when stress, fear, and anxiety tend to threaten the bodys systems or lower immune
responses.
In all of these categories as well as science, engineering, technology -- a frequent practice of
activating right brain ability can mean more inventive, balanced, synchronized mental activity at
higher levels, with the right brain a stronger player and more of the brain engaged.
The element of focusing on gratitude and affirmation with a regular practice can be important in
all creative and performance arts where heart and spirit are critical elements -- perhaps preparing
the way for new levels of performance with fewer limits and boundaries. And in the sciences and
personal relationships, perhaps this is most important of all, for where are we more challenged to
open to the most creative of realms?

Finally, a purpose of this simple exercise is to enable awareness and realization that every moment you
are projecting emotion and thought, leading to actions derived from them and this may impact your
future, your company, career, family, and health profoundly. Perhaps there is no moment that is not filled
with powerful impact, with or without awareness





Copyright 2007-9 S.H. Rodman, Right Brain Aerobics
TM