So — who am I to be writing about politics?
How I Got Here
By training, I am a psychologist. I spent years and years working with people living with moderate to severe brain injury — and learned a lot from them and their families about our culture, what’s important to people when they are trying to “create a life”, and about what makes me tick.
Several years ago, I moved from helping people to “cope” and “compensate” for their brain injury to exploring ways to directly change brain functioning. After so many years of believing that brain injury deficits were relatively permanent after a couple of years of rehabilitation (or at least improved incrementally at a glacial pace), I discovered that the brain could re-wire and improve its functioning. AND that this was true not only for people with documented injury, but that all of us can continue to evolve and change in positive directions with the proper tools. It was very exciting and inspiring for me and changed the nature of my whole practice.
Ok –this is all well and good, but it’s still not making the link to politics, eh?
Well, after a couple of years of focusing on using neurofeedback to create changes in the functioning of people’s brains — and seeing the changes in their health and personal development — I did a little analysis to look at with whom I worked best and got the most personal satisfaction. And my discovery was that, although I’m pleased when anyone I work with can get past chronic barriers and create positive changes for themselves, I especially am gratified by being able to help individuals (epecially women) who are invested in social justice and social change, but who have barriers of one sort or another that are impeding their effectiveness.
When I looked even closer at what that means for me, I discovered I could link my own commitment to helping positive change in our world with my neurofeedback and coaching practice by speaking more directly to individuals interested in creating positive change on a larger scale.
And so here I am.
What I Think
For the rest of my introduction, I’ll include the vision I have from my first post on this blog:
By training, I am a psychologist working in the area of maximizing brain function and personal development. My primary tools are neurofeedback and positive psychology. You can read more about these on my website (www.BrainandHealth.com) and Neurofeedback blog (Neurofeedback on the Brain). ButI’m not here to flog either of those.
I’m here because for some time I have wanted to find a path for myself to be engaged and involved with our political evolution, particularly in Canada, where I live.
I believe that the political process is a wonderful tool for representing the disparate viewpoints of a community – whether that community is a local group, a province, or the entire country. But I’m concerned that the way we have been doing politics is not leading us where we want to go, that it is often squandering the passion, talents, and health of both our representatives and our communities, and that we can learn to do it better.
So this is my first foray into expressing my thoughts, beliefs, ideas, and tools for how we can approach the political system differently – how we can start to create a politics based on positive principles and learn to be proud of our political system and our involvement with it.
How do I intend to go about this?
Well, this is my first step. I intend this blog to be a collection of information, research summaries, tips, and commentary on “Positive Politics”. I invite your feedback, your comments, and your suggestions for content.
Later, you’ll start to see some web pages develop on this site that will grow into a web site of materials and tools to empower and promote “Positive Politicians”.
In the works and to arrive soon….a self-assessment for potential Positive Politicians. This self-assessment workbook is designed for individuals, particularly women, who are contemplating — no, that’s too serious — who are playing with the idea of getting involved in politics themselves. It walks you through what to think about, how to collect your thoughts to share them with others, and hopefully guides you to making a decision about your involvement that lets you commit to and feel good about it — no matter what decision you make. It is not in any way intended to be a “campaign school” replacement — it’s about you, not the parties or “strategy”.
My Approach
I just want to be as clear as possible about where I’m coming from.
First, there is a huge literature out there on what is called “Positive Psychology”. The ideas behind this literature are that we have focused too much on what goes wrong with people and not enough on what goes right. We tend to be in “problem-solving” mode most of the time rather than “enhancing what’s right” mode. Yet the research tells us that focusing on and enhancing what’s right moves virtually all of us much closer to where we want to be and to whom we want to be. So I’ll be sharing how these principles and research findings apply to the political process and to the way politicians might function best.
Second, I have some thoughts I will share about the way politicians approach campaigning and governing. There are a number of lessons to be learned from the field of marketing and promotion of services that I believe apply directly to political activities. I call this approach “Political Entrepreneurship” and I’ll be writing here and on the website-to-come about how it can be applied to promote Positive Politics.
Finally, as a neurofeedback (also known as brain-based biofeedback) trainer, I regularly experience how neurofeedback can be a tool for enhancing personal health and one’s personal evolution – always good things to have as a politician… 
So I’ll also come at Positive Politics from the perspective of how we are “hard-wired”, sharing how our brains can impact how we respond to politics, the “issues”, and our world – decision-making, perceptions, emotional responses, etc. etc. I’ll share evidence that we can change how our brains respond, either indirectly through the use of positive psychology strategies or directly through neurofeedback.
So– what do you think?
I look forward to my postings here and to hearing what you think about what I have to say.
Thanks for joining me -
