New Articles

With current world events in the news almost constantly, and more and more lives being impacted by conflicts around the globe, increasing numbers of people are asking about strategies to help them manage “loss” more effectively. Some specifically need tips to help children deal with loss.

Two new articles in this Spring Issue are in response to these requests: “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder,” and “Where There’s a War There’s a Way.”

Read "Climbing Jacob's Ladder"...

Read "Where There's a War There's a Way"...

New Feature – Brain Bits Weekly

You asked for it, you’ve got it, thanks to Hegarty Services, the company that manages Realizations Inc web site. A Brain Bits section will feature a new snippet of information each week (except for the six main holiday weeks of New Year’s, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Xmas). Brain Bits will not be archived so check weekly. If you snooze you lose—Brain Bits.

Check out Brain Bits...

Brain-Function Education

The DVD entitled Age Proof Your Brain: How to die young at a very old age is now available on a studio-recorded DVD. Arlene Taylor PhD presents sections 1 and 2. Sections 3 and 4 are presented by Sharlet Briggs, PhD Candidate, and include additional practical applications and brain exercises. Retail list is $24.97.
SPECIAL Price is $19.97 for a limited time if ordered through this newsletter. To obtain your copy, write in the special price on the order form or call 1-800-379-5017.

View/print order form...

Build Your Business by Design

Coauthored by Arlene Taylor PhD and Sharlet Briggs, PhD Candidate, this leading brain-function and business-building program, is now available in a home-study format and includes the BTSA. The program is designed to help you discover and implement key strategies necessary for building and maintaining a business in a way that works for your brain. Additional personalized consultation is available.

For more information, visit www.BuildYourBusinessByDesign.com or phone 1-800-379-5017.

Taylor’s Brain Aerobic Puzzles

Brain Benders Puzzles. Here are more to challenge your brain!

Visit Brain Benders puzzle page...

Find-a-Word Puzzle. Find the required words in Puzzle #2, and then challenge your brain to identify even more!

Visit Find-a-Word puzzle page...

Num-Aerobics. This new Sudoku-like puzzle combines prime numbers and mathematical signs. Thanks to Sharlet Briggs for One for the Money.

Visit Num-Aerobics puzzle page...

Seminar Opportunities

Upcoming opportunities to attend The Brain Program

• Saturday, June 7, 2008, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
  Suisun City, California
  Call Kathryn Williams at (925) 580-2758

• Saturday, June 14, 2008, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
  El Dorado Hills – Presented for IMPaX WORLD Inc
  Contact Kim Money at (916) 939-9800 or by email kim@impaxworld.com

• Saturday, October 11, 2008, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
  The Meadows of Napa Valley
  Call Barbara Hudson at (707) 257-5211

Check the web site for information about other selected seminars. Taylor will be returning to Australia in October of 2009 for her third lecture series.

View Dr. Taylor's speaking schedule...

Point to Ponder

The more you use your brain, the more brain you will have to use. —George Dorsey

This goes right along with current brain-function information. Brain cells act much like muscle cells: they get stronger with challenging mental exercise, which stimulates the neurons to grow more dendrites and dendritic spines. Of course the reverse is true, as well: neurons tend to atrophy with disuse, which can hasten the onset of symptoms of aging. You may access more information about this process on my web site.

Read Neurons and Neurotransmitters [PDF]...

Questions & Answers

Q.  Have you read “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne, or watched the video? How can just thinking different thoughts help? Are they off base?

A. The author of the book and presenters in the video are addressing a key component of success. An affirmation is a positive statement used to program your subconscious. When repeated aloud, especially in combination with purpose and emotion, the affirmation will influence your intent and result in altered behaviors in your life. When those thoughts are written down and then read aloud, the effect can be compounded.

Every thought you think, every word you say, and every action you take:

• affects every cell in your brain and body

• alters your brain’s neurochemistry positively or negatively

• creates an internal map for your brain to follow

• impacts electromagnetic energy that the neurons on your brain and heart release

The problem is, of course, while growing up most people have heard 7-9 negative comments for every positive comment, and 18-19 negatives for every positive if they came from a very dysfunctional system. Their memory banks are filled with negative pictures and pejoratives. Most people tend to develop habitual ways of thinking and talking and follow them like a bowling ball follows the gutter. You can only get out of a trap when you recognize you are in one!

Although the importance of “taking action” is alluded to in both the book and the video, it is not particularly emphasized. The author is concentrating on the thinking-affirmation step, which could give you a slightly unbalanced view. When you become aware of your thoughts at a conscious level and take responsibility for thinking, writing, and speaking affirming thoughts, life can change.

The electromagnetic energy released by your neurons can be received by other neurons on the same “wave length,” if you will. Some researchers describe this as a form of “attraction”: like attracts like. At the very least, this may result in your becoming more aware of options that you had previously not perceived, ignored, or decided were unavailable to you. When you become aware of those opportunities you need to take action. Thinking different thoughts does not necessarily create action—but it IS the first step. As Oliver Wendell Holmes put it so elegantly: “the ancestor of every action is a thought.”

Q. My 10-year-old son was failing in school, so I made a deal with a mother who was homeschooling her two children. The curriculum is different, but he doesn’t seem to be doing any better. Can you tell me what to do?

A.I am unclear about your comment that “he doesn’t seem to be doing any better,” so I am unable to address specifics. I can suggest a few factors that need to be considered. Perhaps you have explored them already, but here goes:

• Make sure he has had a complete physical examination to rule out any contributory disease or condition.

• Make sure he has had a thorough neurological examination to rule out brain damage or dysfunction and/or to determine if there is some process that is interfering with learning (e.g., ADD, ADHD, dysgraphia, dyslexia, autism spectrum).

If red flags pop up, work with the physician or health care professionals to develop a plan to address the issues. If there are no red flags, make sure he is in a brain-compatible environment. Curriculum, environment, and quality of teaching are all important aspects of learning. It is my bias, however, that the environment in which the learning is expected to occur needs to be brain-compatible.

Make sure he is living a high-level-wellness lifestyle. Sometimes important components are missing (e.g., nutritious food, adequate water intake, plenty of time to play (play is the “work” of children), sufficient sleep, no more than sixty minutes of carefully selected TV or videos per day, physical exercise on a daily basis—outdoors whenever possible, encouragement rather than praise/reward or punishment).

NOTE: We may never have a precise answer to “How does the brain learn?” What has been and is being uncovered, however, is fascinating. Here are a couple of resources for additional information:

• “How the Brain Learns Best,” found in the Articles section on my web site

• The “Learning and the Brain” section [PDF] in Brain Facts on my web site:
  Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Winner

The owner of the following e-mail is the winner of Taylor's surprise for this issue: mc2b@...t [Full email address is not displayed for security purposes; however, if this is your email address, you know who you are!]

Send a confirmation e-mail by May 15, 2008 to thebrain@arlenetaylor.org and find out what you have won. Include a USPS mailing address along with your name.

Meanwhile, take another look at Dr. Taylor's products...

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