Click here to read an original op-ed from the TED speaker who inspired this post and watch the TEDTalk below.
Many physicists tell us we only "see" a hint of what's in our world (last calculation I read stated around 5 percent). Psychology and neurology tell us we are inundated with millions of bits of information per second and can focus on only a fraction (about 40 bits).
It doesn't surprise me to hear Neil Harbisson saying things on TEDTalk like how many more colors he realized once his brain was wired to "hear" them. Or he could pick the colors of his clothes or choose meals according to how they sound. He can also discern whether things are good or harmful through sound.
Makes me wonder just how much good we may be missing until we literally re-wire our brains to tune in.
The Power of Sound
Today we have brain-sensing devices and computers at our fingertips. We can customize playlists to influence our brain and reset our moods. We can record our brainwaves, put them on an iPod and optimize our mindset anytime, anywhere. We have sound devices to help alleviate the stress and pain involved with cancers and other illness.
Many of these advances are owing to old knowledge as well -- some dating to Pythagoras (lived from 570-490 BC) who hypothesized that sound vibrations affect all things in the universe, including the organs within the body.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), also dating back millennia, uses vibrational energy (with mindfulness) to help detect physical and mental dysfunction at the preventive level -- nailing them before they manifest -- or treating them if they do.
Enter Nature: Sound, Color, Scent and more ...
Many of us are doing research to bring the best of the worlds of Nano and Nature together. In my newest book, The Five Seasons: Tap Into Nature's Secrets for Health, Happiness, and Harmony, I explore how each of nature's seasons offers a unique energy that influences our mind and body. This concept moves forward from the understanding that we are part of nature and nature us, and that many answers we seek in regard to our own health, happiness, and interrelationships can be found in increasing our mindfulness to this connection.
Just as Harbisson mindfully hears color, we can mindfully feel nuances of seasonal energies -- sounds, colors, the surges and wanes -- as with spring's seeding of new beginnings or winter's deeper reflection and creativity. We can learn to alleviate stress, gridlock, depression, improve attention and feel on top of our game.
Perceiving What We Cannot See
Start today. Paying attention to what's been under the radar can help you perceive how impacting these energies are on what happens to you on a daily basis. Then, you can learn to better manage and optimize them.
Spend more time outdoors. Identify what natural elements uplift you, which calm. These may be places/things, sounds, scents, colors -- feelings such as the coldness of water, etc. Put attention on specifically "how" these make you feel. The Five Seasons cites many activities you can engage for discovery. Here are two:
-- Find a place that calms. Perhaps it is the ocean beach. Listen to the symphony of sounds. Using as many senses as possible, observe colorations in the ocean and sky, the plethora of soft blues and greens etc. Take pictures. Later, purchase the "sound" from iTunes or another source. Make an iPod/cell phone slideshow with a soundtrack. Title it: "Calming Playlist." Play often, 7-12 minutes. Use before entering stressful situations. Soon, you can just close your eyes and imagine the waves! Then like Harbisson, your brain will start to "go there" automatically after a few weeks of repeated use. Don't be surprised if your mind goes there for calm even in your dreams.
-- Find a place that energizes or uplifts you. Proceed as above.
The Fifth Season: A Symphony of Personal Empowerment, Creativity, and Healing
Right now, mindfulness is the rage in health care. This is because it can often complement conventional treatments and emphasizes a return to positive energy.
Nature's fifth season is late summer. It represents the essence of who you are and is the headquarters of your mindfulness. You can learn to use it to help coordinate nature's other seasonal energies to get unstuck from dysfunctional employment, relationships, addictions, depression, and stress, or deal with the pains of scary diagnosis, surgeries, and other life changes.
Most individuals say they never realized such empowerment was possible, but once they experience it, they can't imagine living any other way.
Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TEDWeekends will highlight some of today's most intriguing ideas and allow them to develop in real time through your voice! Tweet #TEDWeekends to share your perspective or email tedweekends@huffingtonpost.com to learn about future weekend's ideas to contribute as a writer.