Exercise for the Mind

I was watching the Public Broadcasting Network's showing of "The Brain Fitness Program". The Brain Fitness Program explores the brain’s amazing ability to change throughout a person’s life. This phenomenon—called neuroplasticity—is the science behind brain fitness, and it has been called one of the most extraordinary scientific discoveries of the 20th century.

I was fascinated about the topic as I have spent over 20 years in education. As an educator I am aware that with the proper motivation, discipline and materials you can maximize your mental potential. Like a muscle, the brain will change and adapt to stress exerted and become stronger, quicker and clearer.

While this show's intent is to ultimately sell the program, the show is well worth the watch as it has some important and interesting discoveries and research on the subject of keeping our mind in top condition. One of the recommended books is "The Brain that Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge, M.D., a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, author, essayist and poet. He is on the Research Faculty at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, in New York, and the University of Toronto’s Department of Psychiatry.

According to Dr. Doidge's book the brain is a dynamic, living organ that can actually change its own structure and function, even into old age. Arguably the most important breakthrough in neuroscience since scientists first sketched out the brain’s basic anatomy, this revolutionary discovery, called neuroplasticity, promises to overthrow the centuries-old notion that the brain is fixed and unchanging. The brain is not, as was thought, like a machine, or “hardwired” like a computer. Neuroplasticity not only gives hope to those with mental limitations, or what was thought to be incurable brain damage, but expands our understanding of the healthy brain and the resilience of human nature.

The book is filled with case histories detailing the astonishing progress of people whose conditions had long been dismissed as hopeless. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, a woman labeled retarded who cured her deficits with brain exercises and now cures those of others, blind people learning to see, learning disorders cured, IQs raised, aging brains rejuvenated, painful phantom limbs erased, stroke patients recovering their faculties, children with cerebral palsy learning to move more gracefully, entrenched depression and anxiety disappearing, and lifelong character traits altered.

Another book using these principles is "Balance Your Body, Balance Your Life: Total Health Rejuvenation" by Edward A.Taub, M.D. In this book, Dr. Taub, a board-certified pediatrician and family doctor for more than 30 years, makes total health rejuvenation a very reachable and rewarding goal for anyone, at any stage of life, with his revolutionary approach to nutrition, exercise, and spiritual well-being. Shattering the food myths that perpetuate poor health and obesity, this pioneer of Integrative Medicine and his groundbreaking program Balance Your Body, Balance Your Life introduce the world of wholesome and living foods.

While I underscore the importance of Complete Wholeness and Integrative Medicine I rely and trust in The Father, Son and Holy Spirit for my ultimate well being. I believe in applying yourself to be the best you can be but as a Christian I must totally depend on Christ for my life. Health is not an end in itself neither is balance. It just helps our efficiency so we can be ready and fit for the Lord's use.

As you study these ground breaking discoveries be careful not to embrace the doctrine of humanism or another false doctrine in any form. We can sometimes can lose site of the goal of wellness while chasing after it. The Bible says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It says to renew our minds with the washing of the Word of God. It says to test the spirits to see if they are from God.

So, stay healthy in Body, Mind and Spirit. Feed them well. Take care of them. Exercise them. And with God's divine grace and guidance you will achieve your greatest impact on this world and live a full and meaningful life.

Grace and Peace,

Ed

http://www.urcs.blogspot.com/

Freedom 3

Today I will discuss Freedom of the Soul. The soul houses our personality. It is where our decisions are made. It makes up our personality. It is our center of reasoning. When a person seeks to make another dependent or enslaved one of the main techniques is to withhold knowledge. I say it over and over again in this blog that getting knowledge is critical to good health and the ability to make good choices.

It amazes me that the some of the most prevalent prescription drugs on the market today deal with various mental disorders. Depression is rampant in our society. The use of prescription, over the counter and recreational drugs are at an all time high! People are in bondage to chemicals to make them "feel good".

I believe that part of this is due to diet. Part is due to a lack of exercise. And part of it can be attributed to what we give our mind to. We all know that garbage in causes garbage out. We are what we eat both in terms of the food we eat and the food or stimulus that we give our mind. As our mental condition is related to our diet and body composition I recommend going to a wholistic doctor to get a complete hair or blood analysis to determine any nutritional excesses or deficiancies you may have. We must also balance and monitor our consumption of refined carbohydrates. These carbohydrates can cause our metabolism to have huge spikes creating insulin responses in our bodies that throw off our bodies natural chemical balance. Food alergies can also be involved in our mental health.

After seeing a doctor and correcting our diet we need to look at the amount of exercise that we get. Aerobic exercise is especially important to our mental state. Endorphines are released that make us feel good. And there is the feeling of acomplishment and a good body image that comes from a consistent well planned exercise program. If the exercise is in the form of a game, all the better! As the game will provide a good social element to the exercise. Remember that an important part of exercise is adequate hydration and sufficient rest.

Once our diet and exercise is in order we can turn to what we feed our mind. Our mind is a sponge for stimulus. Movies, books, TV and music all shape our soul. We can feed our mind good, healthy thoughts and images or we can feed it fear, illicit activities, greed etc... It is also important that we feed our souls with positive and encouraging friends and aquaintances. I know that we can't live in a fake "pleasantville" but we should make every effort to add whatsoever things are pure, good and edifying to our mental diets. If all we see, hear, touch, taste and smell is mental junk food we are setting ourselves up for mental disease and eventually even dispair.

Jesus promises that He will keep us in perfect peace if our mind is stayed on Him! David said that the person that meditates on the Bible daily is like a tree planted by a stream prospering. The Bible says that we are to meditate on the good things of life. The Love around us. Our freedoms, our families, our friends etc.... Also as we focus a bit more on the needs of others our problems begin to fade a bit and seem not as bad.

A mind that is free from worry, anger, grief, anxiety, fear and a negative outlook is truely Free! Free to be creative, free to be constuctive, free to be productive and most importantly free to give and receive love. Feel free to write me to discuss this topic further as it is a very important one! Tomorrow I will address physical freedom.

Grace and Peace,

Ed

http://realfoodforlives.com/