Article in Washington Post, Dec. 20, 2006

See link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/19/AR2006121901431.html

Inner Guide

The concept of visiting an inner guide or guides exists in the Silva Method. It is also there in a meditation exercise written by Shakti Gawain.

Yesterday, I did a meditation practice with a group of about 10 people at WPSC. I played Dr. Andrew Weil's CD for Optimum Health, the first two to show the importance of breathing, then read one about Inner Sanctuary from Shakti Gawain. Then I played Dr. Andrew Weil's readings on Self-love and Loving kindnesss. I ended by reading one from Shakti Gawain on meeting your Inner Guide.

Our inner wisdom tends to hide from us. Why? It is obfuscated by the pressures of daily living. It is under the surface of daily consciousness and we usually don't make time to turn to it for advice. Meditation makes us turn to our own inner wisdom and makes us take stock of our problems in an objective manner.

There is a deep sense of self assurance that emerges from meditation. I have begun a journey to find my inner guide so that I can reach inside myself to find solace whenever I need it.

My inner guide can take different forms and feel different each time. I am not going to constrain myself to a form or feel or sound.

Inner Sanctuary

I read Shakti Gawain's meditation exercise about inner sanctuary to a small group this afternoon. The reading had a profound effect on one of them. She was able to articulate the experience to the group. She also said that my style is different from other meditation readers. My voice is louder and it gave a different kind of experience.

Another attendee said that she liked the fact that I allowed her to develop the meditation in her own way in her mind and did not force an experience. She found it be more of a free flow and less intimidating than previous readings.

A third attendee wants to find a recording of meditation so that she can give it to her mother.

Face your Vulnerability

What are you scared of? Face your fear! The moment you do that this nebulous thing - "fear" - dissipates and you feel a sense of release or freedom.

Allow yourself to be vulnerable! Face your vulnerability! Don't be macho. You will open doors to an entirely new world.

Boredom Alert -

Do you ever find yourself suddenly feeling apathy? Not caring about the future because the present stinks? Don't worry, you are just bored! Life hasn't presented you with the challenges that can keep you engaged. It's a boredom alert letting you know that you need to find the next mountain to climb.

Just don't make it too high a mountain. That can overwhelm you. A modicum of need for achievement is good for the soul. Too big a goal may look unattainable and throw you into despair.

It all amounts to a balance.

A boredom alert lets you know that your life is out-of-whack. How do you bring your life back to an even keel? How do you stay alert to the possibilities that emerge when you are unbalanced?

Prompts

Just wanted to remind myself about the word prompt. We used to have prompters sitting patiently at the side of the stage reading along and ready to prompt us if we could not remember our lines. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a little prompter sitting in our head reminding us about stuff?

I wonder if it is useful to think in terms of a little person in your head that can prompt you whenever you forget someone's name or forget why you went into the other room.

Hmmmmmm

Cleaning - Aroma

I enjoy washing dishes because of the smell of the dish washing liquid. I enjoy lawn mowing because of the smell of freshly mowed grass. I enjoy a meal more when it smells good. I enjoy the smell of a good wine. I trigger positive associations with good smells.

I recently read somewhere that if you want to pull yourself out of a funk it might help to go and smell something rotten...the example used was horse manure. I wonder if it is possible to pull yourself out of grief by smelling something bad so that you stop your mind from dwelling on the grief.

Eleanor Roosevelt quote

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"

Schedule a date with your creative side

Daily living requires organization and planning and when all is said and done there seems to be no time for creativity. So trick your organized structure by scheduling a date with your creative side. Set time aside for creativity, just as you would set time aside for meeting with someone. It will be an item on your planner and you have to complete it.

The other side of your brain feels neglected, so make a date with it and pamper it. When it realizes that you care about it, your inner strength will take hold and allow you to flow yourself into the creative venture.

Long before Julia Cameron, there was an author named Dorothea Brande who recommended methods like this. I have been enjoying reading Dorothea Brande's approach to writing. It has allowed me to tap into my inner magic and I have been journaling in my personal journal much more during the last three weeks. Today I thought I would try to do some free writing in this blog.

Dorothea Brande recommends writing one more sentence than you would like to write because you have to reach into your inner thoughts more each time. Once you get used to reach into your inner thoughts and not allow judgement to get in the way of the writing, it becomes easier to become a writer. There is a calming influence of free flowing writing. It is empowering to realized that we can tap into our strengths by resonating with our unconscious thoughts which reveal themselves through our writings.

Laziness or Fear to Think?

When we don't think through a problem completely, is it that we are lazy or that we fear that all the effort will still get us nowhere?

Let's say that it is laziness. If it is laziness, what can be done to overcome the laziness? Examine the benefits of the effort and motivate yourself more. Give yourself more reasons to be thorough.

Let's say it is fear. Courageously press forward, knowing that the effort in itself is the reward. The outcome may depend on factors that are not entirely in our hands.

Expressions of Gratitude

Mother knows best...not father....in this regard anyway. My mother expresses her gratitude for her life every day of her life. She is always aware of the gifts that she has in her life.

I wish I could have the discipline of expressing my gratitude each day for my wonderful life. For it is wonderful indeed. I have been fortunate to be born into a wonderful family and I have been blessed in so many ways. Often I wonder if I deserve my good fortune and it makes me want to give back to this world.

Personal Strengths and Anger

Yesterday I was with the support group at the VA again. Bob had invited me on Monday. I was not sure what to discuss and decided to use a handout that I had created this summer. On side one, I asked them to think about one personal strength. Period.

We went around in the circle and everyone stated one personal strength. Julie, Gloria, Maury, Joe, Bill, Don, Norm, LLew, Bob, Bob, Clarence, and Denise. Somehow, the conversation did turn to anger and I was able to use my other handout where I asked them to list ways to take the "grrr" out of their anger.

I then shared an excerpt from "The Lively Mind" by Jules Willing. I shared that Jules Willing wrote this book when he knew that he had a terminal illness and that he wrote it because he did not want his ideas to get lost with him.

Release the Unease

To focus on something new for 20 seconds, is that realistic? For example, the lyrics of a song. The new words come at you much faster than that. How do some people have the ability to remember lyrics while others don't? Talent? Unconscious competence?

Or do they have the ability to focus so hard on the lyrics that they do not need 20 seconds? Do they remove all other distractions and bring themselves completely into the present? What's their secret? Do they have the ability to release the unease so much that they can fully absorb new information?

Get rid of the hidden unease

Without realizing it, we tend to be in a state of unease. The unease pervades our lives......

On Saturday, I got a professional massage for the first time in my life. As Catz massaged me, I discovered that there were many regions of tightness in my body. She had to work on so many knots of tension. I was amazed at the difference it made to me. She was deliberate and methodical and discovered all the tension spots in my body.

This got me to thinking about how the unconsciousness of unease that is in the body is also in the mind. Hidden unease in the mind prevents us from focus on the present. In my presentations, I talk about the importance of concentration for creating strong memories. I talk about distractions. Perhaps, I should start emphasizing the important of getting rid of the hidden unease. Hidden unease could happen due to grief or anger and I have alluded to these as sources of distraction. But like during a massage, maybe I need to find a way to release the tension in the mind due to the hidden unease. I think that I am successful at doing this already but not in a conscious kind of way.

"There's Hope!"

Pat is in her sixties and today is her birthday. I gave her a copy of this article from Time Magazine, January 2006. See link for .pdf file.
http://cabezalab.org/pdf/Kluger06_Aging_TimeMagazine.pdf

After she read it, her reaction was "There's Hope!" and this from a lady who told me about "Stop the World I Want to Get Off!"

Many, many happy returns of the day, Pat!

Inspiration to be yourself

Two of Anna Quindlen's books inspire me - "A Short Guide to a Happy Life" and "How Reading Changed my Life".

The link that this post takes you to is a commencement speech by her. It relates to my quest for authenticity.

"Cinch by the inch, hard by the yard"

One of the attendees in my "Brain Jogging" presentation last December used the above slogan when I said that memorization is easier if the task is broken or distributed into smaller parts.

For example, rather than memorize the names of all the Presidents today, all I need to do is memorize one today and do it thoroughly. So, I repeat to myself a few times, during a time span of about 20 seconds in order to help my working memory, that John Adams was the second President of the United States of America. During twenty seconds, I can say "John Adams was the second President of America" at least six times. It turns out that this allows for effective reinforcement so that I can remember this fact later in the day.

Through this concentration on one fact, I can overlearn this one fact today. And tomorrow, I can overlearn the next fact that is important to me. As I develop a practice of overlearning one fact each day, I develop a practice that is useful for remembering an appointment or a task until I get an opportunity to put it on my calendar or to-do list.

Heightened Consciousness

How do you get to a state of heightened consciousness or awareness?

It is easier to remember things that you experienced with heightened consciousness - it is not just about emotion.

How do you push your mind into heightened consciousness? If it could be taught, could we improve the sharpness of anyone's mind?

See my previous post on May 5, 2006 entitled "Consciousness"

Excerpts from "Lively Mind" by Jules Willing

Excerpts from "Lively Mind" by Jules Willing

Chapter IV – Mental Liveliness – What Holds it Back?

If you listen carefully to what people say about their own mental ability, you will observe that most of it is disparaging….I had long thought that this self-disparagement was a form of modesty, a kind of social convention, but I have concluded that it is not; in most cases it is a genuine appraisal. Many people really do deplore their minds, and the adjectives they use are the same they employ in referring to irresponsible children: lazy, undisciplined, wandering, idle.

The consequences are far more serious than one might suppose, for the mind reflects and responds to our own evaluation of it, and this opinion draws the boundaries of our mental universe; our mind will tend to be only as “good” as we think it is.

The only person making the judgements about the value of what is going through your mind is you. This is an enormous responsibility that most of us take very lightly; most of us don’t think of it at all.

Consider this example. An obscure employee in the Swiss patent office – a young man in his twenties named Albert Einstein – had some thoughts about the nature of the universe. Fortunately, he considered them to be significant. Although he had never written a scientific paper, was not associated with any academic institution, did not move in scientific circles, and was ignorant of much of what had been published on the subjects, he wrote not one but five papers, which he mailed to the editor of Annals of Physics. They lacked the usual references and citations, nor were they based on his own laboratory research or experiments. Unlike traditional scientific documents, they were simple statements about what he thought. They were ideas that eventually earned Einstein the Nobel prize and permanently changed our conceptions of time, space, gravity, electromagnetism, and the nature and shape of the universe.

We know this now, but Einstein could not have known that his ideas would have these tremendous consequences. The difference was that the young patent clerk decided his ideas had value. So he wrote them down and sent them in.

Consider what would have happened if, when these ideas passed through his mind, Einstein had considered them to be of interest to no one other than himself, or if he had thought that these ideas were interesting but not important. He would probably have thought about them a while and then gone on to other things. Like so many of the thoughts and ideas all of us have, they would have died in the silence of his mind.

Theoretically, at least, any one of us is capable at any time of generating an idea that might shake the world. It can never cause the slightest tremor, however, until we first:

• pay attention to it, and then
• decide it is worth expressing to someone else.

Every thought and idea that fails this two-part test passes into mental oblivion. It astonishes me that we take this responsibility so lightly.

My puppet

Yesterday, I brought my puppet to life during a presentation at WPSC. My puppet is now called Trigger - as in memory trigger. Trigger is a distant cousin of Tigger and looks identical to Tigger. During the past four years, Trigger has been my mascot and not a puppet - now that has changed, thanks to my sister. My sister, Ratnamala Nori, is a puppeteer in Hyderabad India. She uses puppets to educate and entertain us.

When I was talking with her during a recent visit, she made me realize that I was not willing to take a risk and bring my puppet into my presentations. She made me realize that I was doing the very same thing that I urge my attendees not to do. I feared rejection of my puppet - in other words, I was unwilling to risk trying something new. For four years, Trigger has been quiet! Now he has to speak at every presentation.

Tone your memory

Exercise your brain - it will help you tone your memory...see link!

Sometimes I wish....

that, as I walk past a shelf of books that I recognize, I could scan all of them into my brain with some kind of chip and register the understanding with some kind of master computer.

Sometimes I wish that, as I get a flood of thoughts and feelings in my brain, I could express myself in writing in a "flash" of brilliance in a way that the whole world would understand me.

Sometimes I wish these things, I do, sigh! My thoughts as one with the world and the world's thoughts as one with me.

Then I think that if there would be no need for critical thinking or for choice or uniqueness. Nothing special about my consciousness, or feeling of what happens. Then I am grateful for the privacy of my thoughts and inability to express them completely. Would I really want you to know "all" about me?

Marketing neuroscience

What's the driving force? See link

Slow it down with exercise...aging I mean!

Research indicates that sedentary people over 50 who begin to exercise may see a slowing down of aging. See link above

From "Scientific American Frontiers"

Excerpt from above link

"Memory, like most brain abilities, seems to suffer fewer ravages of aging in individuals who keep mentally active. Scientists believe this may be due to the continued reinforcement of the brain cell pathways along which thoughts travel. As you think, messages move along the living network of brain cells. When a brain cell is stimulated, it releases chemicals called neurotransmitters. Some neurotransmitters carry messages to neighboring cells. Others maintain the health and longevity of the inter-cellular connections. Still others encourage the growth of new cell connections to produce even more robust pathways. So by using an assortment of thinking pathways, you can sustain and even improve the fitness of your network of brain cells."

Fascinating!

I just got back from a two week vacation and this link caught my interest.

History shows that we are explorers at the core! New frontiers, new mindsets, fresh inspiration are at the core of everything that drives us forward in life.

Presidential Mnemonics

Will a jolly man make a jolly visitor (for Washington through Van Buren)

How terribly poor that forlorn paper boy looks just getting his goods at cost (for Harrision through Cleveland, i.e. his first time)

What you think about your memory is important

Excerpt from the above link

what you think about your memory affects your ability to remember. If you tell yourself you have a bad memory, such a statement: produces distracting emotions, lowers your expectations for success, and decreases your motivation to use methods that can help you build better memory skills.

It's important to become aware of how what you think leads to an emotional state of mind that can interfere with—or enhance—your memory. When you say to yourself, "I'll never remember this," you are sending your brain feelings of worthlessness and fear, hampering your ability to remember. By the same token, positive mental feedback sets up an expectation of success.

At the VA again

Bob invited me to present at the VA again. He keeps inviting me back to the support group there :o)

Last time, I was embarassed because I could not remember Gloria and Maury's names. Don't know what it is that makes me forget their names but I know that I will remember them next time :)

I remembered Clarence!

The other names that I want to keep on record are Norm and Nora, Al, Mark, Bill, and Don because they were all there the previous time too.

I do want to remember Julie the nurse who was there this time and Carol who was there last time.

Memory "juices"

Think in terms of getting the memory "juices" going. Sort of analogous to developing the need to exercise regularly. Missing the exercise and missing the memorcise.

Our own worlds

We all live in our own little worlds. At the core of our thoughts are certain basic precepts and daily living seems to provide data to connect with those precepts. Prior knowledge to connect to current experience from the now can be accessed selectively and the picture is seldom completed. It is a jigsaw puzzle that always has some missing pieces.

Our own worlds are several jigsaw puzzles floating in a wrinkle of time. And we make sense of them?

Revisiting Parachute

See link from Fast Company, 1999

I like the following best,

"You mentioned that it's human nature to avoid rejection. Over the last 30 years, what else have you learned about human nature, as it relates to work or the job hunt?

People don't just want to keep busy at work. Maybe that was enough when they were younger, but not as they grow older. They want a sense of mission in life -- and a sense of mission about their work."

Excerpts from "Positive Energy" by Judith Orloff, M.D.

p. 129

Emotions are a dazzling expression of energy. As an energy psychiatrist, I know that they contain stupendous life force, negative or positive. Medical school taught me only a fraction of their power.

p. 131

Knowing the many dimensions of emotional energy gives you a jump on mastering it. This program is about choice, not victimhood. For most of us humans, though, inner peace doesn't just magically descend; we must keep fighting for it.

Naming the positive and negative forces within makes us immune to surprise attack.

Awakenings

A lost part of my consciousness is stirring to wake up! A part of me that was repressed due to lack of articulation. I did not articulate it because I was afraid to own up to it. I was afraid to be held accountable for me. Now that I am discovering my inner story and acknowledging I am able to articulate it. By owning my thoughts and the outcomes of my thoughts I am better able to dialog with others. It is a slow process and yet I believe that I am getting better each day.

T.S. Eliot

My reading about presence in Damasio's book led me to T.S. Eliot at this link.

Damasio describes a presence that is you and he borrows words from T.S.Eliot to describe that presence.

"hint half guessed"

"gift half understand"

Excerpt from "The Feeling of What Happens" by Antonio Damasio

p. 10

You are looking at this page, reading the text and constructing the meaning of my words as you go along. But concern with text and meaning hardly describes all that goes on in your mind. In parallel with representing the printed words and displaying the conceptual knowledge required to understand what I wrote, your mind also displays something else, something sufficient to indiciate, moment by moment that you rather than anyone else are doing the reading and the understanding of the text.

Excerpt from "Mapping the Mind" by Rita Carter

p.35

The left brain is what has made homo sapiens the spectacularly successful species it is. It is calculating, communicative and capable of conceiving and executing complicated plans. But it has always had a bad press. It is frequently held to represent the worst of the Western world: materialistic, controlling and unfeeling; while the right brain is seen as gentle, emotional and more at one with the natural world - a frame of mind commonly associated with the East.

This notion has spawned a small industry of specialized self-help books and training courses that claim to encourage right-brain thinking. There are books that show you how to draw with your right brain, rides horses with your right brain, even make love with your right brain. You can take all manner of courses to put you back in touch with your right half, and big businesses hire consultants to test their employees for left/right dominance and slot them into appropriate jobs.

Is it all nonsense? Brain scientists will tell you the idea of a rigid divide is a popular myth. They even have a word for the publics's enthusiasm for the subject: 'dichotomania'. Like 'modern phrenology' the word is a put-down, intended to imply that the real situation is far too complex for simple conclusions to be drawn.

It is true that the brain is marvellously complicated, and the constant interaction of its two hemispheres makes it extremely difficulat to pinpoin what is happening where. Even the most obviously lateralized of skills - language - is atypically organized in about 5 per cent of people. The brain is also very malleable and its wiring can be influenced by all sorts of environmental factors. Given extraordinary circumstances a genetically typical brain may end up organized in a very odd way indeed. Nevertheless, brain imaging studies confirm that the two hemispheres really do have quite specific skills that are 'hard wired' to the extent that, in normal circumstances, certain skills will always develop on a particular side.

Somehow related to me

Does a memory that stick have to be somehow related to me? Does that relationship make it easier to lift it up in my consciousness or awareness? Is that idea of self that is part of consciousness easier to accept when we are younger? Do memories stick forever from childhood because they were originally so "acutely" present in our consciousness?

Memories that Stick

My recent readings for the online brain course have got me thinking about the role of consciousness in memory. My mantra has been "I can remember anything if I pay attention to it completely and give it meaning or context for me" In other words the context or meaning for me may need to be explained with consciousness. I just got this thought in my sleep so I am putting it down in my blog so that I can pursue it later.

Consciousness

I am enrolled in a FREE online course about the brain at Barnes and Noble University. The course started on May 1st but I got my books for it only yesterday. Today I took the bus in and so I had time to read one of the books- "The Feeling of What Happens" by Antonio Damasio. (The other book is "Mapping the Mind" by Rita Carter.)

I am reading about consciousness and have a glimmer of a connection to attention and memory. Attention is the starting point for creating a memory. Poor concentration is the root cause of a poor memory. However, even when we pay attention it seems like we cannot remember until we go through some kind of transformation of consciousness. Attention has to be followed by something that brings our consciousness to terms with the information that we want to remember.

Say that I want to remember that the birthstone for the month of May is emerald. I am told that the birthstone is emerald and I pay attention to this information when it is told. I develop a meaning or context for it by saying that the month of May is the real start of spring in Wisconsin and it means green grass. I associate the green of the emerald with the green of my lawn in May and this helps me remember that the birthstone for May is emerald. Is it now in my consciousness? Has my consciousness somehow been transformed so that the next time someone says birthstone for May, I don't have to think about it and it just pops into my mouth and I say it?

Attention to consciousness - this needs further exploration.

Journal - a record of ideas

I really like the following from "The Lively Mind" by Jules Z. Willing

Excerpts from Chapter VIII – Your Journal: Embodying The Inward Mental Journey

“….write it, write it, put it down in black and white…get it out, produce it, make something of it – outside you, that is; give it an existence independently of you ….” – Sigmund Freud

Keeping a Journal is an excellent way not only to promote mental vitality, but also to develop the habits that sustain it. When you make a daily note of what you have been thinking about, you:

foster the habit of giving some time each day to reflexiveness,

preserve – make a collection of – ideas and thoughts you will later develop and respond to,

improve your mental fluency, the ability to allow thoughts to flow without intervention,
draw a portrait of your inner self and chart the evolution of your ideas and attitudes,

provide a first draft, a starting point, for expressing the ideas you will later share with others, as in your correspondence,

intensify your hold on the present – we tend to live far too much in response to the past and in anticipation of the future, and far too little in the present moment.

What we are talking about is not a diary, which is a record of events, but a journal, which is a record of ideas, thoughts, and opinions.

Environment, environment, environment

I like presenting at some places - not only because of the room that we are in but also because of the person coordinating the event.

Yesterday, I felt so comfortable during my class in Mukwanago. As always, Cherie and I were happy to meet and catch up with each other. Cherie has a very nice aura about her.

Yesterday's group is going to be with me for the next three Tuesdays and I am looking forward to the next class. They were all very positive in their energy by the time we were done.

Positive energy, relaxed concentration, stress-free, learning in a nice environment with nice influences. Life is great!

Comments?

If you would like to submit comments to this blog, please email me at brainjogr@yahoo.com

Sleeping point

Is there such a thing - a sleeping point? A point of reduced stress and worry that makes you feel like sleeping a lot.

Persistence (Hanging Tough)

Concentration requires persistence or "hanging tough". If you have a tendency to give up when the going gets difficult or rough, it becomes hard to concentrate. The most successful people are the ones who hold on when things gets crazy. They tend to have the wherewithal to focus on the things that they do well and stay the course.

It seems as though the ones who give up too soon are the ones who change paths often. Though, on the flip side, in the stock market it is referred to as cutting your losses early. The rule of selling 7% below the buy-point is about cutting your losses early. Hang on to the ones going up and take profit on some stock that gain more than 25%.

Are these counter themes? Is cutting your loss not the same as giving up? Are the ones who persist not mentally prepared for the need to cut their losses on the stock market?

BE HERE NOW

Debbie was an attendee at my presentation today at lunch time. She asked about sensory overload and inability to focus when there are too many things happenning at once. For example, at a basketball game that she went to she was frazzled by all the various things going on - the music, the cheering, the televisions, the vendors, the applause, the partiers, etc. etc. I agreed that managing the clutter is important and then she said that whenever something important is about to happen, she tells herself "BE HERE NOW!"

I like this kind of self affirmation to bring the focus into the present. Being in the moment requires a conscious reminder to be in the present and a habit of self reminder with a simple "mantra" like Debbie's "BE HERE NOW!" is a lot more understandable than "Om Shanthi"

Congratulations Debbie! And thank you for sharing with the group.

Event Listing

Yesterday's "Brain Jogging" was listed at the above link. 15 people attended. I was not entirely pleased with it. Somehow the energy level wasn't as high as I like to feel while I am presenting. I hope that I get a summary of evaluations soon so that I can identify what expectations I did not deliver on.

Do something stupid today!

Dear Journal,
Okay, so I have to 'fess up that I do play poker with my school buddies three or four times a year! We have continued our get-togethers for more than five years and we have known each other for longer.

Last Friday, we had a rollicking great time! All of my friends have an excellent sense of humor! I have a great loud laugh to appreciate their humor.

Anyway, I don't usually do well at poker. By the time the evening gets going, I am not usually don't even know the difference between a flush and a straight. Don't ask me why, because I'm not going to admit to not being a teetotaler. Oops, I guess I just did, can't hide the truth from you ;)

Anyway, last Friday, I was losing as I usually do and Steve had heard of a new game that was making me really nervous. So, here I was, in way over my head and suddenly I decided to let go and bet without thinking too much about the odds! All of a sudden, lady luck turned my way! Literally, the first hand I was dealt a Queen high and the next two cards were Queens and I won quite a lot with the three Queens - hence lady luck turning my way seems appropriate :)

Do something stupid today! Your mental map may tell you it is stupid but maybe it's exactly what you need to do to be out-of-the-box! Maybe the stupidity will get you the breakthrough that you need.

I guess stupidity is neurobic!

Lesson learned from poker with the guys....

A Love Course

Leo Buscaglia was able to teach a love course with great success after much skepticism from his colleagues when he started it. I would like to reinvent this course in the context of the early twenty-first century. It is now the year 2006 and the context now is certainly different from the context in the latter half of the twentieth century.

In the present day context, the concept of love is ensconced within the concept of positive energy. It appears that positive energy is a larger need than love by itself.

What are you going to pay attention to?

Just for today, pay attention to the high priorities in your life! We have the ability to give selective attention to the various "tugs" at us each day. We have to own to the responsibility to pay attention to the Important and Urgent things! Own it! Own the choice, choose to pay attention to the high priorities!

Did you bungee jump today?

Did you do something radically different from your routine today? Well, why not? What are you afraid of? Afraid to step out of your 'cage"?

Go ahead, buy a cup of coffee for the stranger who is behind you in the line!

I heard about an employee at my wife's company who pays for whatever the person behind her at the drive-through wants to buy. That is her bungee jump.

221B Baker Street

I visited 221B Baker Street in London during my trip there in June 2005. The "bobby" was standing silently and calmly in front of the house until I wanted to get my pic taken. Then he quietly handed me a hat and pipe so that I could pose for the pic.

"Elementary my dear Watson!"

Memory Fitness for Life

Stay memory fit!

Memory and Aging

Click on the title of this blog, some useful answers

Random posts on a random evening

I love my life, I love my family, I love my friends, I love mankind, I love the earth, I love the universe, I love creation.

Appalachian Spring

Great American composition!!! Must read the website linked above. It is from npr.org

The concentration on the moment

itunes and Verna Felton singing Bibbity Bobbity Boo. Believe in magic, believe in good fairies, believe in miracles, believe in magic. I believe in magic, life is full of magic. I believe in magic, those footprints are not mine. I believe in love, I believe in caring and love. I believe in succeeding against all odds because of friends and magic, magic and friends and love and friendship and caring.

Concentration on the moment, concentration on magic, concentration on tenderness.

In the moment

Be in the moment, enjoy the moment, cherish the moment, be grateful for the moment, think not of anything more than the moment. Don't be afraid to lose the moment. Stay in the moment, cherish the moment, love the moment, care about the moment, be present in the moment.

Be in the moment, hear the sounds in the moment, smell the smells in the moment, feel the temperature of your surroundings, experience the sights and notice your surroundings.

Music is a Universal Language

Society changes, music changes, people change and thoughts change. Thoughts change and times change, people change, music changes and society changes. Nothing is constant. Even when we think it has remained the same, it has not remained the same. The way we look at it changes, the way in which we pay attention to it changes. That which was so pure and exquisite does not look so pure anymore. What was it that made it pure and exquisite anyway?

Entertaining and educational

I was at the Congregational Home in Brookfield on March 13th and this women's group was particularly memorable. There were about 40 attendees and when I was done presenting there was a definite strong feeling of pleasantness and connectedness with almost everyone in the group.

One of the younger women in the group, Jean H (and I do remember her last name), came up to me after the presentation and asked for my tel no. because she would like to invite me to another group. She used the title phrase to describe my presentation. Thank you Jean H for telling me that my presentation is "entertaining and educational" This is the highest praise that anyone can give me.

Thank you for reading this blog

When I was at WPSC on March 15th, John told me that he and Jodi have read a few of my entries. If you two are reading, thank you for letting me know. It is nice to share my thoughts and feelings with known readers.

I enjoy visiting WPSC to do my Brain Jogging sessions. This time, I recognized Pat from the previous session because she had told me the Oprah Winfrey show method to make 20 seconds tangible. She had heard, on that show, that if you sing Happy Birthday twice it is about 20 seconds.

Anyway, I did not recognize her immediately after I met her this time. She told me that she had attended last time. This was my trigger/cue to remember. As soon as she said that she attended last time, I remembered exactly where she had sat down in the room and what she had shared with the class.

By the way, I have received corroboration for this 20 second reference from an attendee in a different group.

Anyway, I was thrilled that Pat had invited her sister Diane to attend this time. Thank you for attending and thank you for reading this blog!

And yes, Ann, it was nice to meet you again as always. I appreciate how you call me "Dr.V"!

Laziness - Inertia

Why can't I be prompt about my blogs? I get lazy, Newton's first law...inertia....every body remains at rest unless it is acted upon by a force....I have to get the wording that we learned in Physics in high school.

What's the force that is making me write now? What can I do to generate this force on a regular basis?

It's about feelings

Sometimes, you meet someone only peripherally. You hear them speak only a few sentences and you observe them in a meeting and at the end of the short interaction you feel a genuine connection with them. We don't feel confident enough to convey that connection.

Last week, I met Vanda from Latvia - a country that I had to look up on the map. She was part of delegation from Europe. At the end of the meeting, I gave her tight hug and told her that I would never forget her. She said that she too would never forget me. We acknowledged genuine good feelings between us.

Good feelings, altruism, and a sense of connectedness with the world! God bless my friend - whom I probably will never meet again!

UW-Parkside "Mind Aerobics"

Pleasantly so, the class at UWP is a go. It is a two week version of my "Mind Aerobics" class.

We met on Tuesday Feb. 28th from 6:45 to 9:15pm, let me try to name everyone in the class.

Judy, Julie, Jenny, Janice, Jan, Jasca, Joanne, Felicia (Jenny's close friend - attended each others weddings), Kathy, Gloria, Mark, Eva, and Lori. And that's everyone. God Bless them all! I wouldn't have so much fun in these classes if it was not for the interest and attendance of all of these wonderful people!

I always amazes me to see a room full of people are willing to spend a precious part of their life to listen to the information that I present in the classes. I got extremely tired this time but it was worth it! At the end of the class Gloria told me that she really enjoyed the class and wanted me to know it because she cannot attend next week. That was so nice of her to let me know.

Compassionate Meditation

In April 2005, I had referenced a blog on the topic of compassionate meditation. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by the principal researcher of that topic.

Dr. Richard Davidson, a psychology professor at UW-Madison,, presented "Be Happy Like a Monk" at the Milwaukee Public Library. The presentation was very well attended, the group had to be moved into the main auditorium. I estimate that about 200 people attended it.

I am trying to come up with a review of the details of the presentation. Unfortunately I did not take notes. Unlike Holly, who sat next to me, who as it turned out had seen the description of my "Mind Aerobics" class at UW-Parkside. This was a nice aha for both of us.

Anyway, about fifteen years ago, Dr. Davidson was asked by the Dalai Lama to study the meditation brain waves of monks. The overall emphasis being to discover if meditation can help us learn to be more happy. It turns out that monks can sustain gamma wave activity in their meditative state for much longer times that the typical adult. This is due to the years of practice that they have invested in meditation - that is the premise. My understanding is sketchy.

Barnes and Noble "Brain Jogging" Evening

On Thursday, February 23, 2006, I did my fourth session at B&N in Racine. It was an extra special evening for everyone. I am trying to analyse why.

First of all, in the circle were Jan Ca., Eileen, Irene, Barb, Lori, Don, Carol, Cheri, Lloyd, Susan, Molly, Jan Cl., and me. Jan Cl., Molly, Carol, and Eileen were the only ones there on January 26, 2006. That evening was very interactive because we were only five people. Seeing them in this group again gave me extra confidence. Susan was in my second session at B&N, this gave me more confidence. Barb was the organizer at St. Monica's three years ago, when my presentation was well publicized in the Racine Journal Times. Irene came with Barb. I know Jan Ca., from Usha's work group. Lori and Don looked familiar, and Lloyd looked keenly interested throughout the evening. Cheri, of course, is the organizer of this event at B&N.

Bottom line is that I related to all of them!!

Chess obsession

Since the last post, I have been obsessed by chess. I have wasted too much time on it!