Awegasm: Adventures with Emotional Granularity

11/26/21 • 9 min

We can increase our emotional intelligence by expanding our vocabulary for emotional words. This is the core idea of the theory of emotional granularity put forth by neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett. During a road trip through southern Utah and western Colorado my wife and I expanded our ability to articulate our feelings of wonder and delight. We invented the word "awe-gasm" to describe the visceral ecstasy evoked by the natural splendors of the mountain west.

This podcast is based on an article of mine that appears in the Winter 2021 edition of 3rd Act Magazine.

Previous Episode

BRAIN HEALTH / HEARING: Monika Sharma The Value of Hearing Aids

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Why is there resistance to wearing hearing aids? As a culture, we seem to have overcome the stigma attached to wearing glasses, but for some reason wearing a hearing aid is still discomforting for many people. Is it because hearing loss is a sign of old age? Is it because hearing aids are a pain in the . . . ear?

According to audiologist, Dr. Monika Sharma, modern hearing aids are vastly improved over the one’s your parents used a generation ago. And, she finds that younger generations are more comfortable with the idea of treating hearing aids as just another piece of technology that contributes to our quality of life.

Dr. Sharma is licensed audiologist and a licensed hearing instrument dispenser in the State of California, and she is a member of the American Academy of Audiology and the California Academy of Audiology.

Be sure to check out the MINDRAMP Podcast episode Hearing Loss, Aging & Dementia, in which Dr. Sharm discusses hearing loss in general.

Hearing Aid Chapters:

Why the Resistance to Hearing Aids?
Can Hearing Aids Revive Hearing Loss?
Hearing and Your Brain
They Don't Help If You Don’t Wear Them
Hearing Aids are Getting Better & Better
How Soon Should I Get a Hearing Aid?
How To Protect Your Hearing
What About Inexpensive Hearing Aids?
How Often Do I Need to Upgrade?
Tips for Enhancing the Quality of Your Hearing Aids
Conclusion.

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Next Episode

BRAIN HEALTH: Balancing Our Two Brains

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In this podcast I read an article I wrote recently for 3rd Act magazine on the importance of balancing the influence of our right and left hemispheres.
One of the most provocative books I read in 2020 was THE MASTER AND HIS EMISSARY by Iain McGilchrist. It was first published in 2009 with the expanded edition - which I read -coming out in 2019. McGilchrist explores recent research on the different ways the two hemispheres of our brain relate to the world and influence our behavior.
Our mind works best when our two hemispheres contribute equally and share their unique perspectives. McGilchrist argues that our left hemispheres - the hemispheres of language, symbolism and exploitation - dominates and throw our minds out of kilter. Much of what ails us can, plausibly, be traced to this chronic imbalance. I find McGilchrist's ideas provocative and potentially very useful. It suggests that a powerful way to manage our minds is to find ways to rebalance he influence of our two hemispheres.
Exploring this exciting approach to mind management will be a focus of MINDRAMP's work in 2022. This podcast is an opportunity to start the conversation about this complex, but important, subject.

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Support our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.