Catching up!

On May 10th, I had about 20 attendees in my Brain Jogging club at Wilson Park

On May 10th, my ProHealthcare class was a lot of fun with almost all 38 of the attendees.

May 17th, ProHealthcare class ended. Got great reviews.

May 18th, I presented to Bob Bogan's support group about 20 people at the VA Hospital.

May 24th, 12 attendees at Wilson park.

May 24th, 25 attendees at my presentation at Racine Public Library.

May 25th, more than 50 attendees at my Cuddahy Senior Center presentation. Everyone wanted to keep hearing me talk about brain fitness and I kept going for 2 hours.

"Out of the boat"

Whitewater rafting is used as a metaphor for change and change management. "Out of the boat" means exactly that. While whitewater rafting, you can suddenly find yourself "out of the boat".

In preparation for such times, it is necessary to have a practice drilled into you. The practice that The Art of Possibility mentions is "Toes to your nose, look for the boat, reach for the oars!"

During the pre-training for whitewater rafting, the instructors keep making you repeat this practice so that in the event that you do fall "out of the boat" then these life-saving thoughts are triggered automatically.

I am going to invent a practice for people who suddenly have no clue about what they are trying to remember and find themselves cognitively "out of the boat" :)

Another way to remember the names of our Presidents

I like the song in the previous blog better though it ends with Coolidge.

Neat way to learn the names of the Presidents

A must see link if you would like memorize the names of the Presidents!
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/lrRead04.html

Space between the notes

“Great music’s as much about the space between the notes as it is about the notes themselves” Sting

"Like a bubble that pops in a gentle breeze..

..a short-term memory is easily disturbed by interruptions." Quote from Harvard Medical School Guide to Achieving Optimal Memory" by Aaron P. Nelson

Also from the above book,
"In his 1968 book, The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book About a Vast Memory, the famous Russian neuropsychologist A. R. Luria describes a case in the scientific literature of a man (whom he calls S) who had a seemingly limitless capacity to remember detail - but his talent undermined his ability to lead a normal life. S retained so much information that he could not organize it into meaningful categories. He was utterly unable to set priorities, establish goals, and, really, live his life. In the end, S is a tragic figure, inhabiting a confused world crammed with useless information and devoid of the meaningfulness and social connectness that make life worth living."

Excerpts from Toffler's "Future Shock" - II

..... if the last 50,000 years of man's existence were divided into lifetimes of approximately sixty-two years each, there have been about 800 such lifetimes. Of these 800, 650 were spent in caves.
.....Only during the last six lifetimes did masses of men ever see a printed word.

.....Indeed, not only do contemporary events radiate instantaneously.
.....We are caught in what might be called a "time skip."

.....We no longer "feel" life as men did in the past.
.....For this acceleration lies behind the impermanence - the transcience - that penetrates and tinctures our consciousness, radically affecting the way we relate to other people, to things, to the entire universe of ideas, art and values.

Holy Hill

After an Interclub tennis match at Pleasant Valley yesterday, my intuition pulled me to Holy Hill. I was drawn to the feeling of calm and sanctity there. As I drove there, I was reminded about Tirupathi in India. As I reached Holy Hill, there was a special evening mass that was about to start. I observed how everyone was touching the water before entering. I too did so. After I entered it was so beautiful and calming inside, I decided to stay for the mass. I felt a deep feeling of cleansing and joy during my hour there.

It does not matter what religious pathway you choose, all that matters is love, peace, and harmony. The feeling I got while at the mass was similar to what I would feel at a sanctified temple. Years of concentration, prayer, love, and faith at a place of worship make that place a holy place. It is a holiness that can be appreciated no matter what your religious upbringing.