Puzzle It…For Brain Power

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Returning to the simple games of our childhood is yet another way we can enhance brain power as we progress in age through the decades. Improved language skills can be realized by doing crossword puzzles. Likewise, spatial awareness is advanced when you put together a jigsaw puzzle. If you already engage in puzzle activities, you can improve your mental powers by undertaking more challenging puzzles.

Not a puzzle person? Remember there is brain strengthening power for you when you engage in novel activities. So perhaps an easy word search or Sudoku puzzle will whet your appetite for further puzzling. If you enjoy using a computer, you can find word search and crossword puzzle applications for your computer or smart phone too. Don’t wait for a rainy day to have puzzle fun. Schedule regular puzzle breaks into your daily routine; think of puzzling as exercise for your brain. So be creative and puzzle it today to strengthen your most important muscle…for brain power!

Prayer is the filter through which we view our worlds. Prayer provokes us to see the life around us in fresh, new ways.

To pray in the midst of the mundane is simply and strongly to assert that this dull and tiring day is holy and its simple labors are the stuff of God’s saving presence for me now.

Wisdom from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today ~ Joan Chittister

Pray…For Refreshed Perspective

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Sharpen Your Senses…for Brain Power

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You probably have to be around 50 years old or so (plus or minus a decade) before you actually begin to notice that some of your physical senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) are not as keen as they used to be in the decades that have passed since your youth.

Whether the diminishing of our senses is from overuse, disuse or abuse, it really doesn’t matter; however, we do have some recourse when it comes to maintaining or improving our current sensory switchboard. If you have been reading the brainpower posts, then you already know that our brain is plastic, meaning, it is capable of learning new things, making new connections, and crisscrossing hemispheres to perform new or novel tasks. Yes, even in middle age, thank goodness, neural-plasticity is our friend, and we can help our brain stay healthy and dynamic when we perform old tasks in new ways.

So what follows are some ideas for you to use in the coming days. Perform these ‘exercises’ with some regularity to make your neural pathways strong and dependable.

For sight – Blinking frequently, palming, eye-tracking exercises

For hearing – turn the volume down and listen with intent; listen to different genres of music and try to  identify specific instruments being played

For taste – eating with the eyes closed and think about taste and texture; chew your food thoroughly to unlock more flavor molecules

For touch – Close eyes and attempt to sort coins by touch; give and receive body massage; with a friend, practice writing the letters of the alphabet using your finger as pencil on your friend’s arm, hand or back

For smell – every day smell deeply some specific item whether it be food, or flower, or fragrance; then use words to describe the scent. Performing these two activities regularly will help sprout new scent receptors.

Source

Let us make daily use of our riches, and ever repair to Him as to our own Lord in covenant, taking from Him the supply of all we need with as much boldness as men take money from their own purse.
Morning and Evening ~ Charles Spurgeon

Peace is my continual gift to you. It flows abundantly from My throne of grace. I have designed you to need Me moment by moment.  I can meet every one of your needs without draining My resources at all. Jesus Calling ~ Sarah Young

Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.  A Course in Miracles

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.
There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16 ~ Holy Bible, New Living Translation

Know Your Source

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The Space Between

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As I sit here this morning in quiet contemplation, I wonder what it is that the Lord would have me know and do today; I am thinking several things at once. First, today is Friday and it lays open and bare without the structure of work or requirement of appointments. That at first puts me at some dis-ease as I am so used to having my days booked and scheduled to the full. The other strand that is floating by my awareness is that I should be heading out the door for my morning run. But it’s still a little too cool for my liking, and truth be told, I feel less than motivated to go out when I have no ‘race’ on my calendar.

There are no idle thoughts. All thinking produces form at some level.
~A Course in Miracles~

So I am sitting here tapping away on my keyboard trying to be quiet and not upset so that I can hear the whispers and stirrings of Spirit. And yes, for many reasons, I am feeling a little out of sorts. All the ‘things’ that I look to for purpose and structure are lacking at this moment, and I’m trying to be okay with that because I want to fully occupy this time in space. I do not want to scamper away in fullness of care ~ I do not want to fill my hours with activity just to feel better about a momentary lull. I want to, and I think I am actually already beginning to, luxuriate in this quiet space between.

Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility. ~Oprah Winfrey~

So today, this morning, this moment in time, has given me some ideas about possibilities; about change; about simplicity; about contentment in any situation and condition; today, in these quiet minutes I have determined that a reduction is necessary.

Examine these thoughts, because they are fears about outcomes. But this worry is based on your need to know. Break the cycle of those thoughts by being aware of the now. Savor the quest, not the finish.
The Cool Impossible ~Christopher McDougall and Eric Orton

It is time to reduce my dependence on the need to sate every waking hour with movement; there is a stirring this morning to learn a new rhythm for the day; to recognize the value of each rest and pause for the gift that it is. The space between is indeed a destination which my soul craves; I must come here often…so that I may find respite and renewal.

Racing or Running?

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What is your intention? Your intention for the day makes all the difference to how you will rate the finish line at day’s end. Will you race through your day? Or will you run through it? By definition, a race is a competition or contest in which there will be a winner with many runners’ up. Likewise, a run indicates quick forward momentum, when for a short moment, both feet are off the ground.

So what is your intention for the day? Will you treat it like a race and gut out your day, heaving with great sighs of breathing and straining with an intensity and focus that tramples every obstacle in your path? Or will you instead lace up for your day with careful pacing of your energies and metered awareness of the passing moments so as to accomplish those chores and duties you encounter through the day.

Racing through your days can wear you down and leave you feeling defeated if you don’t finish the day ahead of your to-do list. However, if we can run through our days with attention to our pacing and purpose, then we may accomplish what is most needful for today and be satisfied with no more or no less.

Kara-Goucher

Keep Running…It May Save Your Life

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I love to run…anyone who knows me knows that, but what I love almost as much as running are stories about runners who inspire…inspire me to keep going as I run through the decades of my life. Yesterday’s post on Runner’s World was just such a story. A story that took over half a century to unfold, but those many years were needed to make a strong point about the power of running to heal our bodies and minds; when we put our shoes on and show up to run, no matter how we feel (mentally or physically) we set off a chain reaction of health and healing for ourselves. Whether we are 30 years old or 80+ years old, running is excellent therapy. Read Sylvia’s story and be inspired today and know with certainty that the obstacles to your  well-being can be overcome with the help of God and your own two legs.  Now get out there and have a wonder-filled run!