Happy 2018!

Welcome to the new year. A new year seems in once sense to be the man-made marking of time, yet this human construct is symbolic as a measure of where we are as a society and where we are personally in comparison to prior years.

As you mark of the new year, you can ask yourself a few questions. Have I grown? Have I learned? Have I made a difference? Have I touched the lives of others in a positive and meaningful way? It is wonderful to utilize mind and consciousness expanding practices and technologies, but simple advances are made in small and simple ways as well. Each positive action or thought you make creates a neurological pathway - this pathway is strengthened each time you re-create that experience. This is the basic premise of Donald Hebb's theory of neuroplasticity. His famous theory has been paraphrased to state the "neurons that fire together, wire together". As you continue to repeat new behaviors, they strengthen - the neural networks associated with the behavior create more tracts, and more stable neural pathways. This enables the behavior to become more natural, more readily accessible. This can include negative behaviors and positive behaviors. We can over-write our old pathways (or programming) with consistent diligence toward more life-positive behaviors.

If you can accelerate change for the better with technology and mindfulness practices, you can be several steps ahead. While you are marking time and comparing your past to your current state and growth, you may be able to measure more progress with meditation and "hacking" your consciousness with various types of mind-body technologies. Life is a grand experience and experiment - if you hack your mind and behaviors, you can hack your life. Just imagine the possibilities.