Internal mental experience is not the product of a photographic process. Internal reality is in fact constructed by the brain as it interacts with the environment in the present, in the context of its past experiences and expectancies of the future. At the level of perceptual categorizations, we have reached a land of mental representations quite distant from the layers of the world just inches away from their place inside the skull. This is the reason why each of us experiences a unique way of minding the world. (pp. 166-167)
Daniel J. SiegelEarly experience shapes the structure and function of the brain. This reveals the fundamental way in which gene expression is determined by experience.
Daniel J. SiegelFrom early infancy, it appears that our ability to regulate emotional states depends upon the experience of feeling that a significant person in our life is simultaneously experiencing a similar state of mind.
Daniel J. SiegelAt the most basic level, therefore, secure attachments in both childhood and adulthood are established by two individual's sharing a nonverbal focus on the energy flow (emotional states) and a verbal focus on the information-processing aspects (representational processes of memory and narrative) of mental life. The matter of the mind matters for secure attachments.
Daniel J. SiegelWe now know that the way to help a child develop optimally is to help create connections in her brainโher whole brainโthat develop skills that lead to better relationships, better mental health, and more meaningful lives. You could call it brain sculpting, or brain nourishing, or brain building. Whatever phrase you prefer, the point is crucial, and thrilling: as a result of the words we use and the actions we take, childrenโs brains will actually change, and be built, as they undergo new experiences.
Daniel J. SiegelFor "full" emotional communication, one person needs to allow his state of mind to be influenced by that of the other.
Daniel J. SiegelAdolescents who are absorbing negative messages about who they are and what is expected of them may sink to that level instead of realizing their true potential. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, โTreat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being."
Daniel J. Siegel