Category Archives: Brain

Dental x-rays can cause brain tumors

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By: Satish Lohani
Source: NaturalNews.com

Most of us know that radiation from X-rays can be harmful to our body. High amounts of radiation exposure can increase the risk of several types of cancer. Ionizing radiation from X-rays can potentially damage the DNA. A recent study published in Cancer, Journal of the American Cancer Society, provides further evidence about the dangers of X-rays. This study shows that frequent dental X-rays are linked to brain tumor called meningioma.

Dental x-ray exams significantly increase risk of brain tumor

This research found that people who received dental X-rays frequently were more than twice as likely to develop meningioma. Meningioma is the most common and potentially debilitating type of non-cancerous brain tumor. This tumor occurs in the meninges, which is the membrane that is around the spinal cord and the brain. Some of the effects of meningioma are headaches, problems with vision, loss of speech and motor control. These tumors may not be detected for several years until the size of the tumor gets large.

Based on the research findings, the bitewing and panorex dental X-ray exams increase the risk of developing the brain tumor. Patients who received bitewing x-ray exams annually or more frequently were more than twice as likely to develop meningioma. In a bitewing exam, the X-ray film is held between the teeth.

Receiving a panorex exam annually or more frequently increased the risk even more. The individuals in the group receiving panorex exam were three times more likely than the control group to develop a tumor. Panorex dental exam is the exam in which the dentist uses an external device to take the X-ray of the entire set of the teeth.

Children under ten years old are most vulnerable to radiation

According to the study findings, children under 10 years old were the most vulnerable group. Since children are still growing, the cells in the body are more sensitive to radiation. As a result, the radiation affects them more than the adults. Children exposed to radiation from dental X-rays had five times the risk of developing a tumor.

Some critics of the study argue that the frequency of dental X-ray exams was based on what the volunteers remembered. They argue that not many people remember past events. So a better study is needed to strengthen the link between dental X-ray and brain tumor.

Challenge your dentist whether you really need the dental X-ray

So what do the research findings mean for all of us? Basically we have to be aware of the dangers of unnecessary X-rays. When you go to the dentist’s office, usually the dentist will recommend an X-ray during each visit. You can ask your dentist whether the X-ray is really necessary. Especially if you have a child who has no risk of dental cavity, you can challenge your dentist that an X-ray may cause more harm than benefits.

Dr. Keith Black, chairman of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, wrote about the dangers of frequent dental X-rays among young children in his 2009 book , “Brain Surgeon: A Doctor’s Inspiring Encounters with Mortality and Miracles.” The main reason for his concern is that the X-rays are aimed at not only the jaw but also the lower brain. Dr. Black claims that he hasn’t had a dental X-ray in 20 years.

Skipping unnecessary X-ray exams is also a great way to save money. Some of the dental exams cost several hundred dollars and these exams may or may not be covered by insurance.

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Ancient Herb Proven to be a Potential Cure for Alzheimer’s

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Ashwagandha is a small evergreen perennial herb that grows up to nearly 5 feet tall.

Common names used for ashwagandha include: Winter Cherry, Withania somnifera (Latin botanical name), and Indian Ginseng to name a few.

Regardless of the name you use to describe this adaptogenic herb, ashwaganda has been a part of India’s Ayurvedic medical system for thousands of years.

There it’s regarded as a wonder herb.

While often regarded as an herb for stress reduction and improved energy and vitality, there is a robust body of scientific research confiming ashwaganda’s potential therapeutic value in several dozen health conditions.

Now, new research has revealed this herb may also fight off the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Could Ashwaganda Cure Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer’s disease is currently at epidemic proportions, with 5.4 million Americans — including one in eight people aged 65 and over — living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2011 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.

With no known cure and a terminal prognosis, Alzheimer’s disease is associated with degeneration and death in brain cells, leading to a steady loss of both intellectual and social skills, and, ultimately, premature death.

Researchers at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), however, have conducted studies on mice that suggest ashwaganda extract may reverse memory loss and improve cognitive abilities in those with the disease. Initially, mice with Alzheimer’s were unable to learn or retain what they learned, but after receiving ashwaganda for 20 days, this improved significantly. After 30 days, the behavior of the mice returned to normal. Researchers reported:

  • A reduction in amyloid plaques (amyloid plaques, along with tangles of nerve fibers, contribute to the degradation of the wiring in brain cells)
  • Improved cognitive abilities

Rather than impacting the brain directly, researchers found that the herb worked by boosting a protein in the liver, which enters the bloodstream and helps clear amyloid from the brain. Researchers concluded:

“The remarkable therapeutic effect of W. somnifera [ashwaganda] … reverses the behavioral deficits and pathology seen in Alzheimer’s disease models.”

More Promising Research on Ashwaganda and Alzheimer’s

The featured study is not the first time this humble herb has been implicated in improved brain health among Alzheimer’s disease patients. In 2005, researchers found that withanolide derivatives (withanolide A, withanoside IV, and withanoside VI) isolated from ashwagandha improved neurite extension in both normal and damaged brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease-model mice. This is a key component of treating the disease, as researchers pointed out:

“The reconstruction of neuronal networks in the damaged brain is necessary for the therapeutic treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.”

Separate research in Phytotherapy Research, published in 2010, revealed ashwaganda may help manage cell damage in the brain, offering even more potent antioxidant activity than vitamins A, C, and E. They noted:

“Several studies have revealed that natural antioxidants, such as vitamin E, vitamin C and beta-carotene, may help in scavenging free radicals generated during the initiation and progression of this [Alzheimer's] disease. Therefore, there has been considerable interest in plant phytochemicals with antioxidant property as potential agents to prevent the progression of AD. Our earlier investigations of the Withania somnifera fruit afforded lipid peroxidation inhibitory withanamides that are more potent than the commercial antioxidants.

In this study, we have tested two major withanamides A (WA) and C (WC) for their ability to protect … rat neuronal cells, from beta-amyloid induced cell damage. The cell death caused by beta-amyloid was negated by withanamide treatment.”

Another Ancient Herb for Alzheimer’s…

The compound curcumin, which is found in the spice turmeric, is another notable herb for brain health. Recently revealed as effective in helping to stop the protein clumping that is the first step in diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, past research has shown that curcumin may help inhibit the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, as well as break up existing plaques.

Researchers determined:

  • Curcumin is more effective in inhibiting the formation of the protein fragments than many other potential Alzheimer’s treatments
  • The low molecular weight and polar structure of curcumin allows it to penetrate the blood-brain barrier effectively and bind to beta amyloid
  • Alzheimer’s symptoms caused by inflammation and oxidation are eased by curcumin’s powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties

People with Alzheimer’s tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains, and curcumin is most known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. The compound has been shown to influence the expression of more than 700 genes, and it can inhibit both the activity and the synthesis of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX), as well as other enzymes that modulate inflammation.

Additional Strategies to Significantly Lower Your Alzheimer’s Risk

What is interesting and important to understand about chronic disease is that it very rarely exists in a bubble. What I mean is, if you are developing changes in your brain that are indicative of Alzheimer’s, you’re probably also experiencing signs of insulin resistance, such as diabetes or obesity.

And, meanwhile, you may also be showing signs of heart disease, such as high blood pressure, as, very often, chronic diseases are intricately intertwined; they’re the product of imbalances in your body that are manifesting, likely after years spent festering just below the surface. This can actually be a good thing, however, as implementing a few simple techniques address the underlying causes of multiple chronic diseases, and Alzheimer’s is no exception.

This includes:

    • Optimize vitamin D. In 2007 researchers at the University of Wisconsin uncovered strong links between low levels of vitamin D in Alzheimer’s patients and poor outcomes on cognitive tests. Scientists launched the study after family members of Alzheimer’s patients who were treated with large doses of prescription vitamin D reported that they were acting and performing better than before.

Researchers believe that optimal vitamin D levels may enhance the amount of important biomolecules in your brain and protect brain cells. Vitamin D receptors have been identified throughout the human body, and that includes in your brain. Metabolic pathways for vitamin D exist in the hippocampus and cerebellum of the brain, areas that are involved in planning, processing of information, and the formation of new memories.

Sufficient vitamin D is also imperative for the proper functioning of your immune system to combat excessive inflammation, and, as mentioned earlier, other research has discovered that people with Alzheimer’s tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains.

  • Fructose. Ideally it is important to keep your level below 25 grams per day. This toxic influence is serving as an important regulator of brain toxicity. Since the average person is exceeding this recommendation by 300% this is a pervasive and serious issue. I view this as the MOST important step you can take. Additionally, when your liver is busy processing fructose (which your liver turns into fat), it severely hampers its ability to make cholesterol. This is yet another important facet that explains how and why excessive fructose consumption is so detrimental to your health.
  • Keep your fasting insulin levels below 3. This is indirectly related to fructose, as it will clearly lead to insulin resistance. However other sugars, grains and lack of exercise are also factors here.
  • Vitamin B12: According to a small Finnish study recently published in the journal Neurology , people who consume foods rich in B12 may reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s in their later years. For each unit increase in the marker of vitamin B12 (holotranscobalamin) the risk of developing Alzheimer’s was reduced by 2 percent. Very high doses of B vitamins have also been found to treat Alzheimer’s disease and reduce memory loss.
  • Eat a nutritious diet, rich in folate, such as the one described in my nutrition plan. Strict vegetarian diets have been shown to increase Alzheimer’s risk, whereas diets high in omega-3′s lower your risk. However, vegetables, without question, are your best form of folate, and we should all eat plenty of fresh raw veggies every day.
  • High-quality animal based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. (I recommend avoiding most fish because although fish is naturally high in omega-3, most fish are now severely contaminated with mercury.) High intake of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA helps by preventing cell damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease, thereby slowing down its progression, and lowering your risk of developing the disorder. Researchers have also said DHA “dramatically reduces the impact of the Alzheimer’s gene.”
  • Avoid and remove mercury from your body. Dental amalgam fillings are one of the major sources of mercury, however you should be healthy prior to having them removed. Once you have adjusted to following the diet described in my optimized nutrition plan, you can follow the mercury detox protocol and then find a biological dentist to have your amalgams removed.
  • Avoid aluminum, such as antiperspirants, non-stick cookware, vaccine adjuvants, etc.
  • Exercise regularly. It’s been suggested that exercise can trigger a change in the way the amyloid precursor protein is metabolized, thus, slowing down the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s. Exercise also increases levels of the protein PGC-1alpha. New research has shown that people with Alzheimer’s have less PGC-1alpha in their brains , and cells that contain more of the protein produce less of the toxic amyloid protein associated with Alzheimer’s. I would strongly recommend reviewing the Peak Fitness Technique for my specific recommendations.
  • Avoid flu vaccinations as most contain both mercury and aluminum, as well as egg proteins (e.g. myelin basic protein), which the body may produce antibodies against and that cross-react with the myelin coating your nerves, in effect causing your immune system to attack your nervous system!
  • Eat blueberries. Wild blueberries, which have high anthocyanin and antioxidant content, are known to guard against Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.
  • Challenge your mind daily. Mental stimulation, especially learning something new, such as learning to play an instrument or a new language, is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s. Researchers suspect that mental challenge helps to build up your brain, making it less susceptible to the lesions associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Avoid anticholinergic and statin drugs. Drugs that block acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter, have been shown to increase your risk of dementia. These drugs include certain night-time pain relievers, antihistamines, sleep aids, certain antidepressants, medications to control incontinence, and certain narcotic pain relievers.

A study found that those who took drugs classified as ‘definite anticholinergics’ had a four times higher incidence of cognitive impairment. Regularly taking two of these drugs further increased the risk of cognitive impairment. Statin drugs are particularly problematic because they suppress the synthesis of cholesterol, which is one of the primary building blocks of your brain. As Dr. Stephanie Seneff reports:

“Statin drugs interfere with cholesterol synthesis in the liver, but the lipophilic statin drugs (like lovastatin and simvastatin) also interfere with the synthesis of cholesterol in the brain. This would then directly impact the neurons’ ability to maintain adequate cholesterol in their membranes. Indeed, a population-based study showed that people who had ever taken statins had an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease , a hazard ratio of 1.21. More alarmingly, people who used to take statins had a hazard ratio of 2.54 (over two and a half times the risk to Alzheimer’s) compared to people who never took statins.”

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Curcumin found to Prevent Brain Degenerative Diseases including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s

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By: John Phillip
Source: NaturalNews.com

Curcumin, the bioactive compound found in the Indian curry spice turmeric and commonly referred to as ‘holy powder’, has been used for centuries in folk medicine to treat wounds, infections, and other health problems. Today researchers are using the power of the evolving science of epigenetics to reveal how curcumin is crucial in the fight against many forms of cancer, as it causes metastatic cells to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis.

Researchers from Michigan State University, publishing the result of a study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry have found that this amazing natural compound is able to prevent the destructive formation of alpha-synuclein proteins that are the hallmark presentation in many neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Curcumin is one a very select group of structures that is able to cross the delicate blood-brain barrier to affect biochemical and electrical activities in the brain. The turmeric derivative has demonstrated the unique capability to prevent clumping or aggregation leading to disease development.

Curcumin aids protein folding to prevent brain tangles and degeneration

The team lead researcher, Dr. Basir Ahmad and scientists conducting the study commented “Our research shows that curcumin can rescue proteins from aggregation, the first steps of many debilitating diseases… more specifically, curcumin binds strongly to alpha-synuclein and prevents aggregation at body temperatures.”

The team used precise lasers to study the split-second formation of proteins known as ‘protein folding’. Normally, proteins are folded at lightning fast speed at the direction of genes and DNA sequences. Damage to DNA caused by poor diet and lifestyle factors from epigenetic alterations results in mis-folded proteins and neurodegenerative disease.

Researchers found that when curcumin attaches to alpha-synuclein it not only stops clumping, but it also raises the protein’s folding or reconfiguration rate. By slowing the speed that the proteins form, curcumin effectively inhibits abnormal protein clumping to prevent tangles and damage to the nerve synapses. Chemical and electrical communications are retained that help to help prevent the early manifestation of Parkinson’s disease.

Curcumin can be added to the diet with liberal use of the Indian curry spice in meal preparation. Many people do not enjoy the taste of curry infused foods. For those individuals, nutrition advisors recommend a standardized supplement (std. to 95% total curcuminoids for maximum bioavailability) providing 300 to 500 mg daily to prevent neurodegenerative decline.

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This Type of Exercise Can Actually Make You Smarter

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Your brain can shrink up to 15 percent as you get older, and this size decrease is associated with dementia, poor memory and other mental health issues like depression.

But this shrinkage isn’t inevitable. People with “healthy” brains are less likely to experience this loss in brain size, even if they’re older.

What’s one of the most important steps you can “take” to keep your brain healthy? Exercise!

Want to Get Smarter? Do This Often…

If you value your brainpower, you’ll want to make certain that exercise is a regular part of your life.

Staying active with a variety of activities is best, as each type of execise may offer unique benefits for your brain health and may even help your brain to grow as you get older, rather than shrink.

For instance, a review of more than 100 studies, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, revealed that both aerobic and resistance training are important for maintaining cognitive and brain health in old age.

The lead researcher, Michelle Voss, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Iowa, noted multiple benefits of each.

As reported in the Los Angeles Times:

“Aerobic exercise improves ability to coordinate multiple things, long-term planning and your ability to stay on task for extended periods. Resistance training, which is much less studied than the aerobic side of things, “improves your ability to focus amid distracters.”

… Voss explained that MRIs of people in their 60s showed increases in gray and white matter after just six months of exercise. This happens in the prefrontal and temporal lobes, sites that usually diminish with age. With exercise, Voss says, they grow.

Voss also explained that the hippocampus area of the brain, key for memory formation, shrinks 1% to 2% per year in those older than 60, but when people in this age group begin fitness regimens, it grows by 1% to 2% instead.  Beyond growing one’s brain, exercise improves the ability of different parts of the brain to work together, Voss says.”

Do You Want to Avoid Alzheimer’s Disease?

According to one of the studies referenced above, moderate exercise can reverse normal brain shrinkage by 2 percent, effectively reversing age-related hippocampus degeneration by one to two years. Also according to the study, the people in the control group who didn’t exercise saw an average of 1.4 percent decrease in hippocampus size.

Now listen up … when these researchers say the hippocampus region of the brain increases in size as a response to exercise, they are talking about a powerful tool to fight the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The hippocampus, which is considered the memory center of your brain, is the first region of your brain to suffer shrinkage and impairment at the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, leading to memory problems and disorientation.

According to the research team:

“We demonstrate that loss of hippocampal volume in late adulthood is not inevitable and can be reversed with moderate-intensity exercise.”

Other contributing factors to brain disease caused by the normal aging process may also include a decrease in blood flow to your brain, and the accumulation of environmental toxins in your brain. Exercise can help ameliorate both of these conditions by increasing blood flow to your brain, thereby increasing oxygen supply to your brain and encouraging a more vigorous release and removal of accumulated toxins through better blood circulation. Increased blood flow may also promote delivery of more of the nutrients necessary to keep your brain cells healthy in the first place.

This is Your Brain “on Exercise”

Exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by causing nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections and protecting them from damage. Animal tests have illustrated that during exercise their nerve cells release proteins known as neurotrophic factors. One in particular, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health, and has a direct benefit on brain functions, including learning. Further, exercise provides protective effects to your brain through:

  • The production of nerve-protecting compounds
  • Greater blood flow to your brain
  • Improved development and survival of neurons
  • Decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases

A 2010 study on primates published in the journal Neuroscience also revealed that regular exercise not only improved blood flow to the brain, but also helped the monkeys learn new tasks twice as quickly as non-exercising monkeys — a benefit the researchers believe would hold true for people as well.

Exercise Important for Kids’ Brains Too

Many people don’t think about their brain function until they start to lose it, i.e. when they begin to feel the hands of time start ticking away. But that is not to say that only those who are in their golden years can benefit. An extensive review of 14 studies, ranging in size from as few as 50 participants to as many as 12,000, demonstrated that the more physically active schoolchildren are, the better they do academically.

One test program not too far from our Chicago-area office at Naperville Central High School in Illinois illustrated this point in a powerful way two years ago. Students participated in a dynamic morning exercise program at the beginning of the day, and had access to exercise bikes and balls throughout the day in their classrooms. The results were astounding. Those who participated nearly doubled their reading scores, and their math scores increased 20-fold!

Research has also shown that after 30 minutes on the treadmill, students solve problems up to 10 percent more effectively. So it’s important that you encourage your child to stay active after school and on weekends in order to reap the wonderful brain-boosting benefits that exercise has to offer. Even better, be a positive role model and stay active together as a family.

You Can Still Have a Life if You Exercise…

Many people sabotage their exercise efforts before they even begin because they tell themselves they’re too busy. But here’s the thing, you don’t have to devote hours everyday to stay in shape and get the health benefits exercise has to offer.

One of the best exercises available – Peak Fitness – takes just 20 minutes to complete. This is because it’s a high-intensity exercise, alternating short bursts of activity with periods of rest in between, which gives you phenomenal results in a fraction of the time compared to traditional cardio workouts. There are no rules for the specific manner in which this is achieved—you could do this running in the backyard, or using a treadmill, elliptical machine, or recumbent bike – or you could do it bicycling outdoors. Here are the core principles:

  1. Warm up for three minutes
  2. Then, go all out, as hard as you can for 30 seconds
  3. Recover at a moderate pace for 90 seconds
  4. Repeat 7 more times, for a total of 8 repetitions
  5. Cool down for a few minutes afterwards by cutting down your intensity by 50-80 percent

Peak Fitness should only be done a few times a week. So one day you might do a Peak Fitness interval type workout, the next day you might spend 45 minutes going through a strength-training routine. The next, you pop in a Pilates video before your morning shower, and then over the weekend maybe you don another Peak Fitness work out and head outside hiking with the kids or riding bikes around your neighborhood.

Your exercise program can and should conform to your lifestyle, and once you develop a solid routine, you’ll find you look forward to and enjoy your exercise sessions all while reaping their massive rewards to your brain, and your overall, health. You simply won’t want to stop as you know how good you feel when you exercise regularly. That my friends, is one of the best types of positive reinforcement known to man.

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Play Music In Order To Have A Healthy Mind And Healthy Body

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By Andreas Moritz 

A healthy body is composed of numerous rhythmic patterns, all of which are harmoniously linked to a happy mind. When we become angry, these patterns of internal music become distorted and lead to physical problems. Feeling angry is not merely a thought, but it is an all-body sensation where every single cell of the body is forced to deviate from its normal style of functioning. When we are angry, we are literally ‘out of tune’. The result is that our eye and facial muscles tense up, our skin begins to redden or become pale, our heart beat rises, and our body posture changes, reflecting how we feel inside.

This micro-muscular response to emotional states is what is described as ‘body language’. In a way, our body tries to remain tuned to its natural sounds and rhythms which produce happiness, but once it is thrown off balance, harsh words, a raised voice and ill feelings signal that we are no longer tuned to the music of perfect balance or health. This also cuts our links with nature, hence the feeling of poverty, loneliness and loss of spiritual awareness.

Dr. David Aldrich, head of a clinical team researching music therapy, has shown that heart disease patients have difficulties in coordinating and empathizing with the rhythms of music makers. That music has therapeutic value has been known for a long time, but it is becoming increasingly clear that music is a necessity for creating and maintaining health rather than just a means for gaining pleasure.

Dr. Ralph Spintge, head of a pain clinic in Germany, has produced a database that reveals the powerful effects of music on over 90,000 patients. All patients showed measurable improvements in both quality and speed of recovery. Other effects of music included a 50% reduction in recommended doses of sedatives and anesthetic drugs needed to perform otherwise very painful operations. Now there are even some procedures that, with the aid of music, require no anesthetic at all. Although a certain part of the value of music helps the patient to distract his mind from his sickness or pain, most of its healing effects emanate from restoring the important biological and neuro-physiological rhythms that underlie the vital functions of the body. Music soothes and relaxes anxieties, helps to trigger natural painkillers in the brain, and improves the performance and clarity of the mind.

Research has shown that music activates the right-brain temporal lobe, which is associated with emotion, movement, and meaning. This is particularly important in our left-brain society where logic, rational behavior, and analytical thinking are considered the preferred keys to success. Music can stimulate our right brain, which comprises the intuitive and artistic faculties, and this may turn stress and tension into opportunities for positive change in life. After all, we were not born with only half a brain. Our right-brain temporal lobe has many astonishing abilities in store, however, our predominantly left-brain oriented educational system has not sufficiently encouraged their full development. Music has the capacity to fill this gap. There is a desperate need to develop right-brain activities in our society, which is a major reason why so many young people spend all day listening to music.

Internationally famous music sensation Tony DeBlois is a typical example of a right-brain musical genius. Born brain-damaged, blind and autistic, Tony, at age twenty-one, is not even able to tie his own shoelaces, but he has a remarkable musical memory for over 7,000 songs. His ability for playing and singing incredibly complex jazz improvisations has made up for the lack of intellect. His memory for music is extraordinary. He can play any one of his 7,000 songs in any possible style without making a mistake and leap without transition from classical music to the most modern compositions of pop. When his mother gave him his first electronic keyboard, she hoped that this would stimulate him in some way. At first, she was disappointed when Tony only produced random notes and their possible combinations. After about six weeks, he began to play the first three notes of ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ and his gift for music was born.

Playing musical instruments has a profound influence on the performer himself. If you possibly can, try to learn an instrument. One does not need to be artistic or intelligent in order to play music. Tony, too, had no previous skills. The random and seemingly meaningless musical notes he produced prior to developing his musical talent had served as a stimulant to trigger his right-brain functions. Everyone who has a right-brain temporal lobe is artistic and musical by nature. By playing a musical instrument, you can develop this important side of your brain. You don’t have to be a good performer of music to reap the benefit from the frequencies of sound, but by merely producing sounds you bring about profound changes in your brain.

Playing music creates happiness and a feeling of contentment, both essential for a healthy mind and a healthy body. That producing music or singing can have an anti-aging effect is clearly demonstrated by such artists as Tina Turner, Barbara Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, David Bowie, Cliff Richard and Diana Ross, among numerous other performers. They seem to have stopped aging years ago.

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This is an excerpt from my book IT’S TIME TO COME ALIVE

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We Need An Educational System That Addresses Both Aspects Of The Brain

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By Andreas Moritz 

Educated to be Ignorant

Our modern system of education, which is mostly left-brain oriented, often stifles the student’s spirit of love, creativity, spontaneity and intuition. This current approach of learning may have greatly contributed to the unrest, disorientation and confusion experienced among so many young people today.Knowledge is structured in the consciousness. Without developing consciousness, the benefits that arise from the acquisition of knowledge are trivial. Instead of teaching young people to unfold their infinite creative potential, they are stuffed with information that has little or no relevance to their lives. By the time they have reached adulthood and are ready to find a job, most of the learnt information has slipped from their minds and will never be used again.

The purely academic approach to learning judges a student’s intelligence by his ability to memorize information. This turns the student into a machine, although sometimes a very efficient one. Kids who have ‘played’ with computers for a year or so have often mastered complex programs and created new ones simply by using their intuition, imagination and resourcefulness. By contrast, those who are forced to learn the same programs are likely to have great difficulties with them and rarely become efficient programmers.

The more a student is encouraged to use his left-brain, which supports the analytical, rational, logical mind, the less he is able to enliven his right brain, which could unfold his creative, artistic and intuitive faculties. An educational system that addresses both aspects of the brain could turn any student into a truly resourceful, self-sufficient, and responsible human being who knows from within himself what is right or wrong. The modern standard system of education makes the students conform to a restrictive social system that is governed by ‘cold’ figures, rules and money, with only little or no room for human values. Yet life is all about human values.

Consciousness – The Missing Link

Education, as it is presented by today’s schools, colleges and universities, causes a division within the student, separating his heart from his mind. Intellectual abilities are favored over those that develop his heart or the creative spirit within him. A purely academic approach to education turns economics into a battlefield where career-oriented people fight for superiority over others. Modern competitiveness has led to the current loss of humanness in society. The consequences of such an education are immeasurable.

All problems of life, whether they are individual, social, national or international are directly linked to one crucial flaw in our educational system – the lack of development of the student’s consciousness. This missing link could make modern education complete and fulfilling. Instead of expanding the student’s mind through meditation, visualization, intuitive training or other techniques of self-development, it is overloaded with a lot of information that has little or no relevance to his life. This suffocates a young person’s creative spirit and stresses him to the point of depression, anxiety and even severe mental and physical disturbances that can propel them to take such ‘emergency exits’ as recreational drugs, alcohol and violence.

Young people are released from school with a paper in their hands that can determine the rest of their lives. The dependency of a person’s destiny on his ability to pass exams is a frightening prospect, particularly when learning by heart has nothing to do with a person’s intelligence. I personally never did well at school. Being forced to repeat a grade and just barely making it through the others, I experienced the 14 years of my German school education as a living ‘nightmare’, both during the day and the night. My fear of failing exams never left me, even during the eight weeks of summer vacation. Apart from the basic skills of writing, reading and counting, I cannot remember anything else that I had learnt. Yet today I believe I am at the height of my creative skills, covering many more fields than I had been presented with during those 14 years of education.

The great minds and successful people of our historic past like Plato, Einstein, Michelangelo, etc. received their insights, skills, and creative power from within themselves and not through an acquired ability to repeat what others had said or created before. Today’s system of education prevents the student from using his own infinite potential by emphasizing mainly mechanical approaches of repetitive thinking and learning. Such approaches ignore the important issues of life. For one thing, they may give us the (false) impression that we cannot fulfill our desires other than through struggle of some kind. Most people in the world seem to have made the collective agreement that in order to earn a reasonable living, one has to work hard. The strong competitiveness among people and businesses in our modern societies reinforce this belief system.

Many claim that suffering is necessary or that once you have reached a certain age you are no longer fit enough to earn a living. Ignorance about ourselves and the nature of reality is so ingrained in our collective consciousness that we no longer object to such actually quite nonsensical statements as: “Sickness is a natural part of life”, “To err is human” or “Everyone must age and grow old.” We even seem to have gathered enough proof to substantiate our beliefs. Wars, famines, statistics on old age, heart disease, cancer and AIDS leave no doubt in our minds that this is how life is supposed to be and there is not much we can do to change that. All these experiences support the validity of our original belief systems, which are based on the old paradigm of understanding human life. However, the time has come to surrender our past and let go of these limitations, because they do not really exist, except in our mind.

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This is an excerpt from my book IT’S TIME TO COME ALIVE

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