Cross-Train Your Brain: A Mental Fitness Program for Maximizing Creativity and Achieving Success

Contents
Preface ix
Introduction Get Ready, Get Set … xi
Chapter 1 We are all born creative but lose our creative drive over our
lifetimes. 1
Principle 1
Definition of Creativity 2
Value of Creativity 3
Process 4
What Makes Someone Creative 5
Chapter 2 We all suffer from environmental limitations placed on our creativity. 15
Principle 15
The Modern Western World View 16
How We Learned Not to Be Creative 18
The Child\'s Mind 20
Educational System 23
Conformity 27
Process 28
Step One: Identify the Ways Your Thinking and Responses Are
Holding You Back 29
Step Two: Try a New Way, Even if It Is Scary 30
Chapter 3 The life you lead is the life you create. We experience our
expectations. 33
Principle 33
Expectations Color Reactions to Events 34
Your Thoughts Show Up in Your Experience 35
Negativity Begets Negativity 36

V
We Like to \"Think About It\" 38
Self-Limitations 40

VI
Process 41
Change Your Perspective 42
Create Positive Expectation 43
Visualize Your Experience 45
Affirmations 48
Chapter 4 We function best when approaching life with our whole brains. 53
Principle 53
The Right Hemisphere 54
The Left Hemisphere 57
Whole-Brain Thinking 59
Process 60
Seek Out New Experiences 70
Relax Your Mind 71
Chapter 5 Conditions are not emotions. How you feel about an event is not the
event. 79
Principle 79
The Limbic Brain and the Cerebral Cortex 80
Unconscious Thought and Emotions 81
Emotions Color Our Behavior 81
Emotional Anticipation of Events Colors Perception 83
Process 84
Isolate Events From Feelings 85
Prepare for Events Without Anticipating Them 86
Mindfulness Training 86
Morita 86
Chaper 6 We don\'t all learn the same way. 89
Principle 89

VII
Visual-Dominant Learners 90
Auditory-Dominant Learners 90
What Is Your Communication Style? 91
Kinesthetic-Dominant Learners 92
The Evolution of Learning Styles 92
Process 92
Use Your Preferred Style to Learn New Information 93
Try Using Other Learning Styles 93

VIII
Chapter 7 Our minds gather and retain information in a variety of ways. 99
Principle 99
The Emotional Mind 100
The Physical Mind 100
The Intuitive Mind 101
The Intelligence Myth 103
Gardner\'s Eight Intelligences 104
Process 106
Self-Actualization: Developing the Four Minds 107
Emotional Mind 108
Physical Mind 108
Intuitive Mind 108
Cross-Training Intelligence Preferences 109
The Multiple Intelligence Quiz 111
Linguistic 112
Logical-Mathematical 112
Visual-Spatial 113
Body-Kinesthetic 114
Musical 115
Interpersonal 115
Interpersonal 116
Naturalist 117
Chapter 8 Complex movement stimulates complex thinking. 123
Principle 123
Process 124
Chapter 9 Relaxation fosters control. 127

IX
Principle 127
Stress 129
The Only Time Is Now 130
Brain-Wave Patterns 130
Centering 133
Process 134
Centering 135
Breathing as a Centering Tool 136
Bring Your Mind, Body, and Feelings to the Same Moment in Time 137
Meditation 138

X
Moving Meditation 138
Become Aware of Your Brain-Wave Patterns 139
Chapter 10 Multiple answers always exist. 147
Principle 147
Flexible Thinking 149
The Western World View 150
The Eastern World View 151
Separating Thinking 154
Convergent Thinking 155
Process 156
Change Your Perspective 156
Create a Playful Atmosphere 158
Context Shifting 160
Possibility Thinking 162
Create a World View of Commonality 162
Allow for Contradictions 164
Chapter 11 Success is moderation in all things. 169
Principle 169
Cultural Pressures 170
Process 171
Know Your Priorities 172
Do Not Exchange One Obsession for Another 172
Balance in the Organization 174
Chapter 12 Cross-training is important to the new workplace. 179
Openness to Experience 180
Internal Locus of Evaluation 182

XI
The Ability to Toy With Elements or Concepts 182
Psychological Safety 183
Psychological Freedom 184
The Price of Change 184
Epilogue 185
Keep your creativity stimulated with additional reading. 189
Index 191