“What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” – Hamlet
Tara Swart, the eminent podcaster, Doctor, neuroscientist and former psychiatrist, explains with deep understanding – in both senses of the word – in scientific terms why you are a miraculous being and one who you – yes, you, the reader – can uplift yourself to the top of your game. In The Source, a whole lexicon opens up enabling you to reframe yourself, your problems and your aspirations, in scientific terms: detail of nerve endings that can be rejuvenated, deep-seated patterns in the psyche and your body that can be rewoven; in short, how what makes you tick can make you tick better.
A sense of the fantastic mystery which is the universe that is in you, shines through this book. Billions of cells are firing up in your body as you read this; and if some greedy or pedantic reader feels short-changed: actual trillions! A vast, complex network of nerves and bodily systems enables you to harness to your spirituality and psychology a physicality that in sheer complexity holds up a mirror to the cosmos itself.
The painstaking delving by scientists into the deeps of our being in neurological terms, as well as Tara’s case studies, make a convincing case for ways to fix our thinking and feeling processes so that they build more on the reality discovered in the latest research. It is easy to grasp the ideas in this handbook. Tara leads us in a rare trip from scientific laboratory to the psychiatric couch in a tale rendered lucent by homely, accessible prose. As she puts it:
‘The things we want most from life – health, happiness, wealth, love – are governed by our ability to think, feel and act, in other words, by our brains. They are being backed by the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience and behavioural psychology.’
There are over 20 million views and downloads across platforms of Dr Swart’s podcasts.
Since even before the invention of the telescope – Eratosthenes in the third century worked out by the use of a measuring rod and the shadows cast by the sun that the earth was round as well as its dimensions – cosmologists and astrophysicists have mapped a universe that for eons was only visible to the naked eye. The findings of microscope and observable behaviour by neuroscientists arguably are no less extraordinary. What might in starry-eyed terms be called ‘The Ultimate Source of Everything’ is as yet well beyond our compass of understanding but perhaps we are now on a path to discovering more about the deep mysteries, and we are the better enabled to look inside ourselves to find them. They currently may not be tabulated or docketed neatly any more than human consciousness but discoveries in the way that the brain and the nervous system work give us a perspective and a broader picture of the process as well as a fascinating direction of travel.
There is no vainglorious claim here of a magic bullet or universal panacea but common sense, the probability of outcome that is based on research, and empathetic understanding, deriving from Tara’s protean areas of expertise. The good news is that many positives emerge.
The elasticity of our brain means that we have the ability to change our brain pathways and therefore our lives. There are proven brain-body connections, knock on effects on each other, mostly via our nerves apart from brain and spinal cord which constitute the autonomic nervous system. The flexibility of the brain to enhance our experience of life is mind-blowing. A palpable sense of excitement accompanies this account of the spadework being carried out at the frontiers of research. The following paragraph gives an idea of this:
‘…Neurons are fascinating. They look rather like trees with a ‘trunk’ called the ‘axon’, branches called dendrites which receive information from other neurons, and roots called axon terminals which send info to other neurons in the form of an electrical message. Information moves as an electrical impulse in the roots of the neuron that triggers the nerve ending to emit a chemical called a neurotransmitter, which then bridges the gap, called the synapse between it and the next neuron. The neurotransmitter is received by another neuron’s branches’ which then prompts the second neuron to transmit another electrical impulse in its nerve ending and so the electrical impulse continues from neuron to neuron. Each neuron can transmit 1000 nerve signals each second and make as many as 10,000 connections with other neurons. We now know that new and existing neurons can make more and more of these connections as we grow and change our brains in response to everything that we experience well into adulthood. All our thoughts are emergent from the chemical and electrical signals that pass across the synaptic gaps between our neurons. The more connections we make the more we are able to unlock the Source. These signals are happening simultaneously and in different configurations, even when we are asleep….’
The techniques explained in this book are almost as varied as the areas that can be envisaged for self-improvement. They include inter alia advice on nutrition. What do you know about ‘Nootropics’? Perhaps you should know more before your next cuppa of coffee what it is doing to enhance your cognitive ability? It will simply enhance your wakefulness. And then, a taste of philosophy helps wash down the ideas:
‘Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate’ – Carl Jung.
Here is how Lindsey Vonn, an Olympian multi-gold medalist, visualizes herself before a race:
‘I always visualize the run before I do it. By the time I get to the start gate, I’ve run that race 100 times already in my head, picturing how I’ll take every turn…Once I visualize a course, I never forget it. So I get on the right line and go through exactly the run that I want to have.’
Preparation is half the battle, indeed often wins victory in battle When in 1976 Israeli soldiers rescued 102 hostages from Amin’s airport at Entebbe, they trained in a purpose-built replica airport. Tara Swart is not content simply to describe examples; she cites studies; for instance, Guang Yue in the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio measured increase in muscle mass with a sample group performing tasks and another one simply visualizing them; the results of the survey will not surprise anyone reading this review.
Also in this book is a system of individual study available to anyone who wishes to put in the time to acquire self-knowledge to achieve a desired result.
Note: If you’d like to hear Tara Swart’s views on what she believes is important in life, you can tune into what she says on the Institute of Reflection by visiting ‘Personal Credos’ at: ….
Below the body of this review are snippets that give you an idea of the expertise to be found in the ‘The Source’.
*****
Case studies in ‘The Source’ can be compared with the better of the current crop of self-help manuals by Life Coaches. Instructive in a different way are Tara Swart’s comments on research into the brain. To read them in a list as below no doubt does not lodge them in the memory as well as would be the case if following all what Tara Swart has to say about them and for the reasons that she gives but this list will give a neophyte the flavour of the learning in the book:
1. Neurons (nerve cells) are the means by which we can convey and interpret information from all over our body and our sense, and that coordinate movement, behaviour, communication and thought, via neural pathways passing electrical signals from what we see feel, touch and smell etc.
2. A change in the internal structure of the neurons is possible so that they develop new synapses at their endings that can make more connections with other neurons.
3. An increase in the number of connections between neurons is observable if the effort has been put in on the part of the student or practitioner.
4. The canard of the brain ceasing to grow and change at a certain age is dispelled.
5. The brain should be thought of an integrated whole and it continuously interacts with the rest of the nervous system.
6. The left/right division of the brain is debunked as solely housing the differences from which rationality and emotion arise. True enough, folds in the brain are divided into two hemispheres, left and right. Each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex includes four defined areas or lobes but there is overlap in their functionality.
7. Folds of the cerebral cortex grow in an uneven fashion depending on what is most important in the first period of life.
Frontal lobes control reasoning planning, problem-solving and short-term memory storage, plus movement.
The occipital lobes process information from our eyes and link it with information already stored in the brain.
The temporal lobes work with sensory information from our ears, nose and mouth, plus they are involved with memory storage.
The parietal lobs are involved with sensory information from our ears, nose and mouth.
8. In neuroplasticity, the ‘survival’ emotions – fear, anger, disgust, shame, sadness – mainly function below a conscious level. These escape/avoidance emotions involve the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. The two ‘attachment’ emotion spectra, love/trust and joy/excitement are mediated by hormonal effects of oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine.
9. There are visual, auditory and language centres in the brain. All these functions rely on complex networks to fire simultaneously and, like a fingerprint, the maps in each of our brains for all functions will be unique and dynamic.
10. The brain is approximately 78% water so hydration levels important as is a healthy and balanced diet rich in good fats. Some wholegrains contain essential amino acids that are building blocks of cells so good fats such as coconut oil, oily fish and avocado, and mineral-rich vegetable have a huge impact on the brain.
11. The systems in the body function in a holistic way. Synaptic connection, namely links knitting together stronger links between existing neurons can result in an increase in the number of synapses. The whole brain, including emotion, logic and the nervous systems, should be in balance, much as in the Chinese concept of Yin and Yan.
12. New pathways in the brain need to be repeated and are habit-forming.
13. Myelination – speeding up of the way neurons work by coating then in a white, fatty electrically insulating layer (‘Myelin’) speeds up transmission along them. It maximises the efficiency of the pathways made up of neurons that are already connected, like insulation that ensures the electricity is maximized and not dissipated.
14. A balance of chemicals keeps our body and brain working in harmony and healthily. An imbalance of dopamine, for instance – the chemical associated with pleasure and reward, is relatable to a craving for chocolate and the buzz of falling in love, and the highs of drug addiction and consumerism, overeating and shopping. Imbalances of serotonin – sometimes known as ‘The happy hormone’ most commonly associated with the balance of mood and anxiety – can underlie depression and bipolar disease.
15. Tucked away deep inside the brain and about the size of our fist is the limbic system, in which are stored the more primal emotional and intuitive habits and behaviour patterns. Its boundaries have been redefined due to advances in neuroscience. Limbic structures such as the amygdala are closely related to emotion.
16. ‘Amygdala’ – two bundles of cells. one in each hemisphere – are the seat of emotional reactions, most particularly the negative emotions of fear and anxiety.
17. All our decisions are biased by emotion. Our emotional impulses in the limbic system – a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, involving several areas near the edge of the cortex concerned with instinct and mood. It controls basic emotions – fear, pleasure, anger – and drives – hunger, sex, dominance, care of offspring – are regulated by the rationality stemming in the ‘Pre Frontal Cortex’.
18. Neural pathways connecting different parts of our brain develop and are strengthened during childhood, most rapidly during the intensive processes of learning to walk and talk. During adolescence, there is a massive amount of neural ‘pruning’ that gets rid of unused pathways and specializes the brain with sophisticated pathways for life skills needed to navigate social interaction, survival and reproduction. As the pathways become stronger and more established over time and with repetition, they become the habits and behaviour patterns that we may or may not be consciously aware of. Neuroplasticity means that we can disrupt and refine these patterns well into adulthood.
19. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals found in the ‘root’ end of neurons. They enable electrical message to pass to the next target neuron and form pathways to the brain. Moments of high excitement, great sex, winning a race, also a reaction in moments of exercise stress, fear or pain involve the release of endorphins.
20. The level of these transmitters and our resultant moods, emotions and drives are absolutely correlated. We can take back the power to moderate our very physiology through how we think and look after our bodies, rather than remain at the mercy of the levels, supply, quality and flow of these chemicals.
21. Deep inside the brain the hypothalamus receives input from the retina, hormonic levels, salt/water balance in the blood as well as body temperature. It links the nervous system to the hormonal system via the pituitary gland, intensifying the brain-body connection. It sends information out to the body and has a role in the sleep/wake cycle along with the pineal gland, which releases melatonin as part of our body clock.
NB Descartes believed the pineal gland to be the ‘principal seat of the soul’ and popular associations correspond to the Hindu and Taoist concepts that the ‘third eye’ which signifies the subconscious mind. It is said to connect people to their intuition. It is supposedly made more powerful through yoga meditation and other spiritual practices such as qigong.
You are a being who may be as unknown in your vasty deeps as the animating spirit of the universe but one as complex – some eggheads say more complex, a dispute set to run and run so don’t watch this space – than the entire cosmos. Or several! As years go by the chemistry, neurophysics, in The Source may become as familiar to us as the Milky Way as it is now to the millions of Dr Tara Swart’s podcasts viewers, and when that happens, I may slip back into my familiar pattern and take you for granted again as being just another reader.
Such a pity this notion will become increasingly trite as the years pass.
Such are thoughts that come to mind as in one’s subtly altered perspective on life from this book.
In other words, as a Self-help and personal development book, the Source is a one-off.