Podcasts Health Your Pet Brain -- A Plush Friend for Brain Healing

Your Pet Brain -- A Plush Friend for Brain Healing

Published: June 19, 2021, 2 p.m.

"Your Pet Brain" is a big adorable, plush brain with giant eyes for those of us who could use a spare one. And my girlfriend wanted one. We could both use some extra neurons. As her birthday approached I decided to order one.

Brain shipped in his box (yes, I'm already anthropomorphizing and gendering him). Cathy went downstairs to take care of something and the saw the distinctive box. She felt a wave of mild envy, and thought, "Aww, someone else got a brain."

 Then she took a closer look at the box and saw my name on it. She scooped it up, brought it up stairs and giddily shuffled through our apartment to show me. She was thrilled! I briefly toyed with the idea of making her wait another day until her birthday, but that seemed unfair since the box made it clear what it was.  And I think brain appreciated it too, because the box wasn't super comfortable.

A gray plush brain with big eyes sits on the box he sipped in. The box has an illustration of him.

This week's conversation is wide ranging. While it all starts with how a delightful, big, plush brain can help and empower folks with physical brain damage or psychological it conditions It goes deeper than that. We talk about the importance of play, emotional education, the nature of the brain, the mind and soul, and outsourced manufacturing strategies. Ultimately, it's about how to human.

(If you don't see the audio player below, visit http://Strokecast.com/PetBrain)

Click here for a machine-generated transcript

Anyway, our pet brain is now named Brian and I'm delighted by that combination of wordplay and mundanaity. He's sitting on the couch next to my desk as I type this thinking brainy thoughts and snacking on smart food.

Bio

Aydika James, a woman with long, black hair looks at the camera.

Artist, adventurer, neuro-hobbyist and Humanity’s #1 fan, Engagement Art Producer Aydika James creates things that make the world a better place. (She also makes a killer cocktail.) With global projects ranging from The Kodiak Queen to YourPetBrain.com, to wacky ride-able “art cars”, to private legacy sculptures that tell the story of someone’s life, Aydika is fascinated by how art, play and “edu-tainment” can be used to unite crowds around a shared experience that stimulates widespread change.

A firm believer that any vision can be achieved when we keep asking the question, “How do you paint with people?”... Her wish is to see a world where each person is supported in seeing, being and celebrating their own unique gifts, so we may astound ourselves with how profoundly beautiful we can make this planet, and our experience on it together.

Aydika James snuggles a large plush brain

Miles the Traveling Penguin

Years ago, I had a job that involved travelling 80-12 nights a year across the US. I did really enjoy it. My most frequent travelling companions was Miles, the traveling penguin. He maintained a blog of his travel photos for many years. He was beginning to switch to Instagram just before COVID-19 closed everything.

You can see his old adventures here.

A small, stuffed penguin in a red scarf sits next to a delicate flower petal

Fluffy Photo Shoot

I mentioned the JoCo Cruise while talking with Aydika. This is the fluffy friends group photo from March 2020.

It's all in my Head

One of the themes I come back to time and again is the idea that there is nothing wrong with my arm, and there is nothing wrong with my leg, It's literally all in my head.

And it is. Because that's where my injury happened. That's where the damage is  -- right near the middle cerebral artery on the right side.

When most folks say, "It's all in your head!" they're saying it derisively. They're saying there's nothing wrong and that you're just thinking wrong. They're saying it's not real.

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”

Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry’s ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The things that happen in our head are our reality. They're the only reality we have. The real world is just light waves/particles, sound waves disturbing the air, and pressure on our skin that sends signals to our brain.

Our brain is where that raw data gets turned into our reality. It's where those raw impulses become our experience of the world. It's where we assign meaning to the waves, particles, and impulses.

As stroke survivors, we know this better than most folks.

Mental health, physical health, and spiritual health have fuzzy lines between them, at best. In reality, they are much closer to being the same thing than many folks realize.

How we move in the world is all dependent on how our brains process all that incoming data and compares it to the meaning it assigned to previous rounds of incoming data.

It is a simultaneously scary and empowering thought.

Hack of the Week

Find something funny everyday.

That doesn't mean you have to tell jokes or be funny. Look around you in your home, in your work, in your social media, in your hospital room, wherever you are, Just try to find one thing that can make you smile, chuckle, or laugh every day,

Because when you can laugh, you can learn. Our world can seem absurd at times because it is. Acknowledge that. If you can find one funny thing a day, that can help tremendously.

Links

Where do we go from here?

A gray plush brain with big eyes sits on a couch and appears to eat a bag of chipsBrian the brain relaxes with a snack

More thoughts from Aydika

  • A pile of assorted stuffed animals The text over the image read: And we think of plush as kids, but actually our audience tends to be pretty much adults. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture of a horse that appears to be laughing. The text over the image read: We now have this renewable resource that we can tap into that is humor. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • 2 Dogs wearing party hats and leis The text over the image read: And humor has a way of really turning the volume down on painful emotions so that we can experience the emotions, but we can also see that they're kind of funny. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture if a teddy bear holding a sign that says,
  • A woman sits on the couch with Brain in her lap while dringing coffee and smilining The text over the image read: Like I'm an adult traveling around with this giant plushie, why? And then I realize it's because it makes me happy. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture of brain in front of a bowl of brain food The text over the image read: Every single time I see this thing, it makes me smile and sometimes all we need in the day is just a reference point of what it feels like to just feel OK for a second. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • An outdoor, weather beaten arrow sign with the word Fun on it. The text over the image read: Fun gives us access to learning. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture of a screen showing an assortment of emojis The text over the image read: We're not teaching young humans what thoughts and emotions are, what they're not, and how to work with them in healthy ways. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture of a tough, shirtless man showing off is muscles. The text over the image read: We're being taught how not to feel. You know, suck it up, be strong, just be happy. Don't think negative thoughts. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A drawing of a rubber duck The text over the image read: One of the things that is ubiquitous to all humans is that we love to play. It's in our nature and if you can make it funny, generally can make it interesting. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture of a young kid crying with his hands over his eyes The text over the image read: Maybe that’s not super pleasant, but what do you want to do with that? -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture of a woman hugging a lion. Both appear to be laughing. The text over the image read: How can we make this fun, you know? How can I find the funny in this? Because if I can do that, it's going to be OK. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture of a bunch of human hands with a heart painted across tem The text over the image read: It's just one more thing that helps me confirm that I am humanity's biggest fan. I think humans are amazing. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture if a woman handing a wrapped gift to someone. The text over the image read: Your gifts aren't something to be ashamed of or overly proud of they're what you've been bestowed. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A woman holds up 2 pieces of clothing, trying to decide which to wear. The text over the image read: That's something that sets I think humans apart from other animals is the power of choice. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A close up picture of an eyebal The text over the image read: We live in limited biological creatures and they're taking commands from our brain and our brain is taking commands from our mind. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)
  • A picture of Brain (a plush brain) outside The text over the image read: There's nothing better than making a toy. I'll say that there's nothing better than making a toy that people love. -- Aydika (@YourPetBrain)