The Da Vinci Legacy

Think of the great genius that lies untapped within each of us.

                                 Think Leonardo Da Vinci, for example.

In the words of Michael J. Gelb, "If the young Leonardo were alive today, he would probably be on medication. Think back to your school days. A common refrain from overworked, beleaguered teachers was "We don't have enough time for all these questions; we've got to get through the curriculum." (This applies now more than ever today with the necessity to meet state imposed standards) "Now, persistent question askers are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder or hyperactivity and treated with Ritalin and other drugs."

The cultivation of curiosity can be considered a stepping-stone to realizing the genius that lays within us, yet society today and the educational system squelches the urge to follow the creative impulses of our natural curiosity.

Doing so reflects the standards imposed by society of finding the right answers (teaching to tests), rather than asking the right questions. Leonardo's life was an extraordinary example of creative problem solving of the highest order. 

Couldn't we learn something from this example?

When we are required to live in a manner out of sync with our natural energies, imbalances within us are a natural consequence. Consider for a moment that the underlying cause of behavioral and learning symptoms of ADD and AD/HD could reflect the frustrations inherent in trying to metaphorically fit a round peg into a square hole.  Drugs can be used to balance such disturbances, but what if we could find a way to counter the effects of living and learning in an environment that didn't always support our need for autonomy, curiosity and creative thinking?

What if we could manipulate our energies to better attune to the environment that surrounds us and shapes our perceptions?

This environment, by the way, not only imposes psychological obstacles with regard to learning, but the effects of man made energies within both the home and the school are also contributing factors that affect the flow of our energies. Man made electricity, the use of and exposure to computers and cell phones, and chemical toxins in our food and our water supply all bombard our body with unnatural energies that we must learn to metabolize. We need to evolve our bodies to keep up with the technology that continually throws us off balance. I invite you to tap into your capacity for genius, to be open to and curious about an alternative method of interacting with the energies both within ourselves and within the environment we find ourselves living.

To some, this is a new idea. However, if you question the reasons why learning disorders are becoming more prevalent in our society, and if you research new trends in treatment, you'll find that many approaches that appear promising include some method of manipulating the body's energies to better align with what we perceive to be preferred patterns of thinking.

Take for instance, "Brain Gym®" www.braingym.org. This is a program that incorporates repatterning of the psychological aspects of the mind with physical exercise that supports the mind in adopting new habits. "Brain Gym®" applies the use of Kinesiology, the science of body movement and the relationship of muscles and posture to brain function. Pioneered and researched in 1969 by Paul Dennison, Ph.D., this approach has grown into what we now refer to as Edu-Kinesthetics (Edu-K) and "Brain Gym®". These are simple and highly effective systems of targeted activities that prepare your brain and entire nervous system for optimal performance. Since 1990, "Brain Gym®"  has been selected  annually by the National Learning Foundation in the USA as one of today's leading technologies for education and was named as one of twelve programs representing "Successful Learning Innovations."

Other techniques of working with learning or behavioral handicaps include patterning that is based on the concept that a child's development should happen in a certain sequence, i.e. crawling as a prerequisite to walking in the developmental stage of growth. Treatment for allergies is also being researched as a possible contributing factor. Vision training including eye exercises and the use of tinted sunglasses (color therapy) has received anecdotal reports of success. Claims of their effectiveness cannot readily be substantiated due to the fact that formal studies have not been done on these new and somewhat controversial techniques.

The Da Vinci principle of curiosity and openness to new ideas has been generally lost within our society. For many, this ability to open oneself to unproven therapies and theories is directly proportional to having exhausted all other avenues of treatment with little or no success.

Pharmaceutical Drugs are always an option. However, research suggests that combining medical stimulants with non-drug therapies ensures a greater success rate.


I invite you to explore the world of energy. Think genius again... think Einstein.

Matter follows energy! We know that all of life is animated by an underlying energy and many schools of thought are now embracing Einstein's theory of a unified field. The ancient, yet currently reemerging mind/body/spirit philosophy embraces this concept of the unity of all things. Einstein's contribution to the world of quantum physics should be considered before succumbing to the temptation of dismissing energy therapies to wellness as some New Age eccentricities that are to be discarded without consideration.

There are both ancient spiritual and medicinal philosophies as well as more recent discoveries in the field of quantum physics that support the underlying truth that we are not solid, we are composed of a latticework of invisible force fields that determine much about our health, happiness and performance.

Learning to dialog with and manipulate these energies is crucial to fulfilling our own capacities for genius.

Tuning into and supporting these quantum principles is an innovative and effective means of supporting the body's energies to counter illness and to allow ourselves the opportunity to align our energies with the environment in which we live for maximum performance on all levels or our being. Energy shifting protocols are based on the theory that energy fuels our existence, and that these energies can be shifted intelligently to maximize our own personal potential. Examples are Chinese Medicine.. or yoga training.

The term "medicine"used here should not be confused with our traditional understanding of medicine as strictly a pharmaceutical intervention with relation to disease or other dysfunction. 

Energy based protocols are the oldest, safest, and most accessible form of healing there are. You need nothing but your commitment to relearn this language that your body already knows, and on occasion, the magnetic properties of your hands to use it. Their basis of recognizing the body's energy as the source of all physical and mental/cognitive imbalances is at the core of all of the techniques just mentioned regarding programs now in use to address issues of ADD and AD/HD.

Let's not allow our children to feel different or disabled in the sense that their inner reality is out of sync with the world around them. Let's give them the tools to redirect their energy in a fashion that integrates their unique gifts with the universe of energy that surrounds them. The use of specific and targeted aspects of existing protocols of healing will accomplish this.

Let's put our own Da Vincian principles to use in order to help our children better attune to theirs!

From Michael J Gelb's...

"How to Think Like Leonardo DaVinci"

              The Seven Da Vincian Principles are:


"Curiosita"            An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.  

"Dimostrazione"  A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.

"Sensazione"     The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as a means to enliven the experience.  

"Sfumato"  (literally "going up in smoke") A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.

"Arte/Scienza  The development between science and art, logic and imagination. Whole brain thinking.

"Corporalita" The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness and poise.

"Connessione"  A recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Systems thinking.

 Energy protocols are met with skepticism by some, much like the theories of Da Vinci and Einstein being far ahead of their time and not readily understood or considered as credible. However, there seems to be a mass shift in consciousness toward energetic means of understanding and working within our physical reality both in traditional applications toward medicine (magnetic resonance imaging as an example) and in our increasing reliance on energy as a means for communication (computer technology as an example). Applying this consciousness on a personal level is the principle of Energy Healing methodologies currently available to us in the fields of health and wellness and to that of learning and interacting with the world around us.

Allow me to open the door to new possibilities that this paradigm of thinking creates.

Develop your DaVincian potential!

Here's a video to help reduce the stress that inhibits our cognitive ability. Retraining our stress response loop is fundamental to unleashing our full potential as well as being great preventative care against the physical ramifications of chronic stress.

    You're invited!

       Pease join me... updated articles and transformational techniques to enhance your wellbeing. 

 From my desk to yours...

with much love and light!

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