Sep 24, 2020
What if I told you that you
don’t need eyes to see? Today’s thought leader is the
‘real-life-Batman’ Daniel Kish. Daniel is an expert in human
echolocation and President of World Access
for the Blind and
one of the world’s foremost
inspirational speakers. Blind since he was 13 months old, Daniel
has learned to “see” using a form of echolocation.
Let’s jump right into this
episode and learn from Daniel how anyone, blind or sighted, can
learn to repurpose their brain and conquer fears of the
unknown.
[00:01 - 09:49] Opening Segment
- Let's
welcome our guest for today, Daniel Kish
-
- ‘The
real-life Batman’
- President of World Access for the
Blind
- Daniel talks a bit about himself
-
- Known
in part for having trained his brain to see without
eyes
- Lost
his eyes to Retinal Cancer as a baby
- Repurposing the brain
- The
concept of image is just a compilation of sensory
data
- Daniel talks about making the most of ‘real
estate’ for the brain
-
- Forge
connections actively
- I
mention a video you can see Daniel in action
-
[09:50 - 19:27] Borrowing Eyes
- Daniel talks about alternative
solutions
-
- Different doctors have different acceptance of
different areas
- Blindness is associated with a lack of
mobility
- Being
blind is a challenge but the challenges can be
addressed
- The
approaches used to be very ‘sight-centric’
- Getting access to visual
information
- Typically and traditionally people use sighted
people to obtain visual information
- There
was a problem, but now people have choices about how to approach
it
- ‘Use
it or Lose it’
- The
issues surrounding blindness have produced a
marginalization
[19:28 - 26:55] Repurpose the Brain
- Daniel talks about how this work pertains to
sighted people
-
- This
goes beyond just echolocation
- It’s
about repurposing the brain
- Build
more brain connections to creativity and
innovation
- 3
things needed to teach the brain something new
-
- Motivation
- Regular Opportunity for
Application
- Challenging circumstances
- Daniel talks about the psychology of what he
teaches
-
- Mastering your capacity as a
person
- Neutralizing fear
- Darkness is the construct of the
brain
- People assume blindness is simply a lack of
eyesight
[26:56 - 35:05] Overcoming the Fear of the
Unknown
- Daniel addresses how to overcome this
fear
- Are
you firstly motivated?
-
- Fear
leads to curiosity
- Where
are you allocating your energy to?
- Next
is learning how to develop a healthy relationship with
darkness
-
- Challenge your assumptions and rethink what you
think you know
- Establish what you DO know
-
- These
are tools you can use to charge through
- We
should be willing to find a new foundation when fear
comes
[35:06 - 43:19] The Seed of Creating
Community
- Daniel talks about different people who have
learned this technique
- Daniel shares how this work looks like in
practice
-
- Working with a lot of kids with a lot of
different stories
- Daniel tells an amazing story of one of his
students
-
- Teaching a kid to play soccer with
sound
- Creating a community
- Connecting to things bigger than
yourself
[43:20 - 52:56] Closing Segment
- How
to help and support Daniel on his mission
-
- Creating a vision academy with a virtual and
outreach component
- Donate
- What
reminded you every day that it’s still an amazing
world?
-
- Watching people grow into greater freedom -
especially children
- I
want to add that Daniel is a great public speaker
-
- How
can we find you?
-
- Final
words from me and Daniel
Tweetable Quotes:
“For us to
forge connections in our brain, those connections have to actually
be used, we have to conduct energy actively through those
connections.” - Daniel Kish
“Fear of the unknown is man’s
most primal fear… as a blind person you are the unknown
personified, which I believe is a fear that lies at the root of all
of our fear.”’ - Daniel Kish
Resources Mentioned:
You can learn more and support
Daniel on https://waftb.net/
Articles with Daniel:
https://everwideningcircles.com/2019/07/31/daniel-kish-blind-seeing-with-sound/
https://everwideningcircles.com/2017/10/29/daniel-kish-life-beyond-expectations/
Ever Widening Circles Link:
https://everwideningcircles.com/
EWC Ed:
https://ed.everwideningcircles.com/
Conspiracy of Goodness Summit
Oct 4th:
https://www.cogsummit.com/
Donate!
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EWC APP:
https://everwideningcircles.com/good-news-app-ever-widening-circles-app/
Dr. Lynda's Book:
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