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Read To See and Not to See here... Seminar Opportunities
February 17, 2006. Friday, 9-5, St. Helena, California. The Brain Program, one-day option held at the Women's Center. Register with Carrie at (707) 963-1912 or e-mail to beggc1@ah.org. March 10-11, 2006. Friday, 2pm through Saturday 4pm. The Brain Program, two-day option held at the St. Helena Center for Health. Phone (800) 358-9195 or (707) 963-6365 to register, or e-mail to shuhealth@ah.org. Plan ahead to attend a Brain Program Alumni in 2006. By request I'll be including brain-function updates and more practical information on the brain and male-female differences. Send me your brain-function questions ahead of time and I'll do my best to address them during Q&A time. June 16-17, 2006. Two-day format at The St. Helena Center for Health. Phone (800) 358-9195 or (707) 963-6365; or e-mail to shuhealth@ah.org. June 30, 2006. One-day format at The Women's Center of St. Helena Hospital. Phone (707) 963-1912 or e-mail to: beggc1@ah.org. View current speaking schedule... Brain Bender
Riddle
FAQQ. I've heard you speak about the importance of using positive words (affirmation) so all three functional brain layers can perceive them in a one-step process, but the Ten Commandments are negative. What do you have to say about that? A. As translated, two of the Ten Commandments are "do" precepts, while eight of them are "do not" precepts. This style may relate more to the brain-function concept of free will than to the art and science of affirmation. First, according to the authors of The Mind & the Brain, studies by scientist Ben Libet suggest that "free will" operates not to initiate a voluntary act but primarily to allow or suppress it--once the thought has surfaced in the brain. They wrote, "Since the volitional process is initiated in the brain unconsciously, one cannot be held to feel guilty or sinful for simply having an urge or wish to do something asocial. But conscious control over the possible act is available, making people responsible for their actions." Some have paraphrased the "do not" Commandments as a concept: if you become aware of an urge to kill or steal or lie (etc.), make a positive choice to refrain from taking that action. Second, when information comes to the brain in two or more sensory systems with an emotional component, there is increased likelihood that the information will pass directly into long-term memory. History indicates that when the Ten Commandments were issued to the Israelite slaves after they left Egypt, the specific environment contained a great deal of sensory stimuli with emotion (e.g., lightening, thunder, earthquake, extensive preparation, specific rules for safety). Since this group of individuals may not have possessed reading/writing skills at that time, the specific set of environmental circumstances may have increased the likelihood of the ten rules being filed directly into long-term memory. More Frequently Asked Questions... News Note
The author has also included pages of simple math problems and other brain-activation exercises. Most days, I spend a few minutes solving the simple math problems while using my stationary bicycle, and I've begun reading aloud to myself at every opportunity. If people think I'm just talking to myself, so be it! Point to PonderIt is possible to store the mind with a million
facts and still be entirely uneducated. Recently I met an individual who had attended The Brain Program more than ten years ago. It was amazing to listen as that person spouted off all manner of tidbits about the brain that I had presented at the long-ago program. The punch line was, "See how many facts I filed away?" My next question was, "How many of those facts have you turned into reality and applied to your own life?" Ah, that was a different matter. By that individual's own admission the answer was "None. But I'm going to do that one of these days." Unfortunately, that's an example of storing the mind with facts about the brain but being personally uneducated about what those facts mean in terms of practical application. Such a pity! Brain function information is state-of-the-art and can make a positive difference in your life--but only if you apply it!
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Quick Links... |
Male-female
differences continue to be a hot research topic
and amaze, amuse, or annoy in turn. My new article,
To See and Not to See,
addresses vision styles in men and women. It certainly
helped me to put into perspective some of the contention
that is seen in the home and in the work place.
I hope you enjoy it!
Upcoming
Brain
Bender: More stimulation for your cerebral neurons!
The
more it dries, the wetter it gets. What is it?
Start
the New Year right for your brain! In his book Train
Your Brain, Ryuta Kawashima MD asserts that
the latest brain research has shown three optimal
training methods for effective activation of the
brain: reading aloud, solving simple calculations,
and writing. His book contains pictures showing
brain activation while a research subject was performing
a variety of activities (you may be amazed at the
amount of brain activity that was triggered when
the individual was watching TV--very little activation)!