Life magazine ran an article in July of 1994 about a group of nuns that were in their 80's, 90's and centenarians. All of these women were alert, articulate and showed no signs of Alzheimer's disease or any other form of mental degeneration. Why? They said they loved to do puzzles every day. They exercised their minds daily. This article focused on the fact that we think by creating dendrite connections in the neural pathways of the brain. Neurologically this is called "use dependent plasticity." If we don't continue to create new neural connections, the brain will begin to atrophy. This is the onset of senility.

Most of us have formed definite neural pathways of thought. We use habitual methods of thinking to approach life's challenges. In this way we have created deep ruts in our brain. We have truly hard-wired our mechanism for thought, the brain. If we accept the concept that mind is created by consciousness acting upon the brain, we can see that we need to create flexibility in the brain to have flexibility of mind.

Not only is doing puzzles daily an excellent way of keeping the mind sharp, but different puzzles exercise different portions of the brain. Some puzzles stimulate the left brain, some the right brain. There are also different types of thinking; logical, analogical, and lateral are a few examples. These different modes of thinking apply to solving different kinds of problems.

Most of us were educated in the public school system and our logical left brain habits were specifically targeted. Reading, writing and most forms of arithmetic use structured sequential thought. Reasoning is also an attribute of left brain thinking. Developing our ability to reason is an art that results in wisdom.

Learning to access and stimulate the right brain is done with art, sports, music or other forms of holistic, spatial and audio forms of training. You can also stimulate the right brain by using your mind to solve spacial orientation, pattern recognition and analogical puzzles. The right brain is thought to be the seat of insight. Opening pathways in the right brain allows us the ability to facilitate insight. Insight is that sudden knowing of the answer. By nurturing and exercising our capacity for insight we have opened up the potential for genius to emerge.

We are offering a variety of puzzles here, presented daily, that will stimulate the left brain, the right brain, and also generate a whole brain entrainment. Whole brain thinking is akin to intuitive thought, and contrary to common knowledge, it can be taught and exercised, thereby strengthened. Developing our ability to reason with clarity and listen to our insights will further unify the brain and allow for creative genius to be common in our lives.
Life brain article

Laughter is the best medicine. Science has proven that laughter massages the internal organs, enhancing digestion and circulation. Humor also releases endorphines in the brain that give us an overall sense of well being. Children are most susceptible to humor and can readily accept it under even difficult circumstances.

What is humor? Humor is the ability to recognize the absurd in any situation and to accept it. Humor is the ability to not take oneself or others too seriously. Light heartedness is the essence of a joyful and creative life. A sense of mirth helps relax the mind and make it more flexible.

This site hopes to instill humor and laughter in each day's experience. Each daily puzzle will be prefaced by a good joke or silly anecdote. In today's stressful world a good joke to start the day will lighten up everything that comes our way.

If you study the great genius' of recorded history, most of them had an excellent sense of humor. Examples are Einstein, Pablo Casals, Albert Schweitzer, Leonardo Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Goethe, and the list goes on.

Humor can also be cultivated and developed. As one's creative abilities increase you will be able to sense the absurd in any situation. Doing this allows for freedom of thought.

The soul is lifted by noble reflections from minds and hearts that have soared beyond the norm. When your soul is uplifted your ability to grasp and perceive in creative ways is greatly enhanced. Your desire to reach beyond your present boundaries is stimulated. This is the essence of a creative attitude, the desire to reach for new horizons.