I have been an armchair neuroscientist in my interests. I am fascinated by the brain, how we believe it works, how it really works, and what different research has shown. I have found books written by real neuroscientists that talk about how the brain works and what the research they have shows about intelligence. I am also fascinated by the idea of rewiring your brain. I just found another neuroscience book that has research from some neuroscientists that have challenged the established belief that adult brains have little to no neuroplasticity. This is the ability for the brain to rewire itself to accomplish new tasks or repurpose different parts of the brain. I didn't know this was a limiting factor in the theory of neuroscience. The book also includes information about how Buddhists and neuroscientists are working together to unlock more knowledge about neuroplasticity. The traditional neursoscience belief is that the brain affects the mind solely. However Buddhists have long believed that the mind can affect the brain physically. I am just starting to read this book, but so far the experiments that have been performed seem fascinating. It also has not gotten to the part about the Buddhism influence on the research yet. So far I have just read about how scientists have shown that plasticity can be shown to occur with normal everyday tasks. I don't know where this will lead, but its really cool to read about.

Okay, great, so what?

The why was I looking for this is interesting. I have been looking for some time ideas on how to improve my thinking. I had the idea that I could help myself think better by training my brain with mental exercises. I want to create a program that runs on the computer or phone that one could use with visual and audible cues to play mental games. These games would be designed to make one better at solving puzzles, remember things better, and more. If these exercises could be made in such a way that they were fun to do then we could use our own addictions to improve ourselves. The research I had before frustrated me because they always said you couldn't make yourself smarter. Maybe you cannot increase your mental capacity (not sure if that is true if we can grow neurons, also mentioned in the book), but reorganizing what you have might be possible. Maybe if there is a finite capacity to the brain that reorganizing might cause you to drool. I don't know, but if I could create a puzzle game with the purpose of helping me visualize algorithms, I would find that useful. Also, helping me remember short strings of data would be helpful as well. It seems like I have trouble when it is more than 7 numbers (ten?). Which is also why phone numbers are that long. To make them easier to remember.

I just don't know where this will lead. It might be a wild goose chase. But I think I will learn something about my mind and myself in the process. It also sounds like a great deal of fun.

Visiting Drepung Monastery
 

Highlights:

The largest monastery in Tibetan Buddhism has a cascading structure and a spectacular scale.

There are many monks in the monastery, and the scale of the ritual is large, which is very interesting for mainland tourists.

The annual Buddha worship ceremony at the Shenton Festival is the largest exhibition of Buddhas in the Tibetan area, attracting the entire Lhasa empty city.

Built in 1416, the temple has nearly 10,000 monks, and the temple is gradually rising in profile, the temples are connected, the towers stand, and the scale is grand; the temple provides silver for the Dalai Lama II, III, and IV Quality Spirit Tower. Compared with the magnificent and rigorous Potala Palace, I prefer the slackness and ease of Drepung Monastery. It is more like a hermit, with wisdom but unruly manner. Drepung Monastery is a must-visit place, its share of tranquility, share of leisure, and calmness cannot be matched by any other place. In my heart, it is not a monastery. It feels more like a quiet village. Everyone in the village lives in peace, smiles, and has good intentions. You can take bus No. 16, 17, 24 and 25 to Drepungsi Station, then walk uphill along Dangba Road for about 2 kilometers, which takes about half an hour.

Location: Lhasa, Tibet