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Introducing Howard Moody and the Heart of Play

The arrival of Howard’s first publication is long overdue yet well worth the wait. This book is in collaboration with Howard Glasser, founder of the tremendously successful Nurtured Heart Approach (copyright Howard Glasser), and brings their brilliance together for a uniquely powerful process called Nurtured Heart Play.

Mr. Moody is a true master of interpersonal engagement and community-building through playful activities ranging from alternative recreation to improv theater games in a spectrum he calls Integrative Social Play. 

I have had the privilege of working with Howard over the years, and now it is my honor (and delight) to promote his work and support him in sharing his timeless message, which is now more important than ever. 

For more information, please see www.howardmoody.com

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This is the kind of thing I talk about in my presentation on memory techniques. I haven’t competed in memory competitions, though I have developed these skills for my own purposes, such as memorizing hundreds of poems, memorizing the number pi to over a thousand digits, and the ability to memorize a randomly shuffled deck of cards on one viewing. I also use these techniques for researching my presentations and for delivering them. 

In addition to the spatial processing advantage of the memory palace, I also teach the phonetic alphabet, which is very helpful in translating the abstractness of numbers into concrete, memorable images. The combination of the two is quite powerful as these methods are complimentary.

I round out my toolkit for students with basic training of association, acronyms, self-testing, and the importance of the health habits that support optimal brain function.

Also, as has been taught since ancient times, repetition and structured, timely review of the more difficult memorization tasks can make the difference in long-term potentiation with smooth recall when needed and the lack thereof.

All in all, lots of fun imagery and stimulation of the mental faculties are involved in interiorization... 

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Creativity

Holding up the mirror to Norman Rockwell.

Interconnections promote cognitive flexibility and multidimensional creativity. 

The culmination of Getting Great Grades, and of study in general, is the development of the whole person. The fullest expression of this is in our ability to create ourselves like a work of art. This endeavor goes far beyond academic performance to a bio-psycho-socio-global level of excellence...

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5 Steps to Manage Stress

Students and teachers are under a lot of pressure these days. Heck, everyone seems more stressed out than ever. Fortunately, from the martial arts comes a tried and true technique for staying relaxed under pressure, even under the stresses of life-and-death fighting situations. This ability has wide-ranging applications, including during the less traumatic circumstances of test-taking, where undue stress hormones can seriously interfere with brain function and memory.

The power behind this method is that is acts on the level of bodily responses to stress. Instead of just trying to tell yourself to stay calm and carry on, intervening on the physical level can short circuit the hormonal response before it gets flowing. That’s why it’s called the “instant” calming sequence. At first, you might have to practice the five steps one at a time. After a short while, the process can be initiated all at once to intervene against the habit patterns of fight, flight, or freeze.

The Instant Calming Sequence

1. Connect your breath (inhale with the exhale) so there is no pause. The stress response normally causes tension in the chest and breath holding.

2. Balance your posture. Whether standing or seated, lengthen up through your spine, tilt forward and back a little to find the place that is most effortless to maintain and buoyant. Anxiety reactions cause us to contract and round the spine forward.

3. Smile. This directly opposes the stress response and can even affect neurotransmitter levels in the brain.

4. Initiate a wave of relaxation coming over your muscles with the exhale, lowering the shoulders and scanning down through your body. Focusing on the sensations that are present anchors you in the now and shifts attention away from the stressor.

5. Finally, mentally repeat a phrase or positive affirmation that reinforces the state of well-being that you are choosing to maintain, such as, “I can stay calm in any situation...”

It is recommended to find ways of practicing this sequence throughout the day until it becomes natural, instantaneous and automatic. Developing these kinds of habits can benefit from putting reminders in strategic places, like colorful sticker-dots on the bathroom mirror, fridge, car dashboard, inside a notebook, etc.; maybe make it a habit of doing it when brushing your teeth, or before eating a meal.

There is a great feeling of empowerment that comes from implementing the technique in real-world circumstances. If there is a person who tends to “push your buttons”, or if driving in busy traffic and dealing with uncourteous drivers tends to set you off, even in these situations you can remain unprovoked, and then you feel less like a victim of those inevitabilities and more in control of your reactions and your life. Success breeds success.

This is a potentially life-changing skill to have in your collection of mental strategies. So, practice the instant calming sequence and carry on imperturbably!

For more information see Getting Great Grades.

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Brain Warriors

Make no mistake, everything matters, not only because everything is interconnected, but because at every turn the world is laying siege to optimal brain functioning. From chemicals in the food such as HFCS, trans fatty acids, and BPA, and chemicals in the environment such as lead in the water, mercury in the air and glyphosate everywhere, everything from psychological stressors to blue light toxicity, to information overload, we are in the fight of our lives for the classic ideal of maintaining a sound mind in a healthy body.

 We need to be brain warriors in this battle to protect our precious neurons. One of the top experts on this subject is Dr. Daniel Amen. At Getting Great Grades we are in parity with his guidelines, which recommend a holistic approach to brain optimization, including eating healthy foods, exercising, getting good sleep and nurturing interpersonal relations. He also recommends a variety of nutritional supplements that often prove helpful in maintaining optimal cognitive functioning.

We also go the extra mile, looking at the immediate environment, hydration habits, hygiene, breathing techniques, posture, meditation, and spirituality. 

Just like the way a soldier must be trained in a wide range of skills for survival on the battlefield, we need to be well equipped with multiple areas of awareness and a clear strategy to accomplish the mission of academic and personal excellence. Leading our platoon of wisdom warriors are Lieutenant Brainiack, Captain Cognition, and Major Memory--all under the command of General Genius. 

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The Play & Humor Perspective

From the outset, before we get into some of the nitty-gritty of self-analysis, implementing improvements, and the work of brain optimization, let’s establish the ideal mindset for going through this entire process. As it turns out, having fun with the accelerated learning is the optimal approach. While it is a fairly serious endeavor, managing stress is an important component that should be established from the very beginning. And nothing keeps stress hormones in check like playfulness and laughter. 

If it seems contradictory, or too tangential for emphasis, consider the words of Carl Jung, “The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the object it loves.”

So if you are serious about brain optimization and getting great grades, it is good to know that it can and should be fun. That’s how, even when we’re going through some of the aspects that might seem less exciting, such as Immediate Environment, and Holistic Hygiene, which come at the beginning of the list, you can keep your creativity and curiosity engaged; also by remembering where this project is leading. 

Mind/body mastery is an amazing project, but like with many subjects of study in school, there will be areas that are difficult and some that seem downright boring, but if you can entertain yourself at the same time, you will learn better and enjoy the process more as well. Therefore, also consider the words of John Dewey, another great thinker (who was also a serious educational reformer), “To be playful and serious at the same time is possible. In fact, it defines the ideal mental condition.”

Feel free to use these quotes the next time you get spoken to by a teacher for joking around in class. But remember, use the power of playfulness carefully, and constructively. It is a skill. 

In the romantic comedy 12th Night, Shakespeare says about the character Feste the Jester, “This fellow is wise enough to play the fool, and to do that well craves a kind of wit. He must observe their mood on whom he jests, the quality of persons, and time... This practice is as full of labor as a wise man’s art.”

After all, learning should be fun. Under the stress of a heavy course load and the pressures of test-taking, it’s good to know that playfulness and humorousness can only help.

Cheers and happy learning!

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Integrative Schematic for Brain Optimization

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Interconnectedness

Everything is interconnected--therefore, everything matters. This is true socially, environmentally, physiologically, atomically, and certainly spiritually. This means everything you do has an impact on your brain function, your test results, and ultimately your success in life. 

The master checklist helps you to look at this big picture and assess yourself in terms of the aspects of interconnection that you have some control over. Otherwise, you might just go through your day without paying attention to some of the factors that could be working against you. This approach is all about removing deterrents to learning so that when you sit down in class, in doing homework, and at test time, you will be firing on all cylinders. Don't underestimate some of the less-obvious entries on the checklist. If you truly want to be your best, embrace every aspect of your health and efficiency. They go together.

Holistic health and the human potentials movement are not fads, but a perennial pursuit of exemplars in all cultures throughout history. The term bio-hacking is just a new way of expressing this urge.

Ultra-interconnectedness is both overwhelming and empowering, disconcerting and a source of solace, an enormous responsibility and a psycho-spiritual understanding of oneness. So before you drill down into the deep details of each subject you are studying, take a step back and make sure the big picture is in proper focus. 

“You will be your own greatest work of art when you practice great interconnectedness.” 

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Integrative Brain Optimization

Part Two

Getting Great Grades adds an integrative health and human potentials perspective in support of ultra-cognition, wherein learning strategies can reach their fullest potential, benefiting everything from mood to mental endurance. We will also look at study habits, organization, and memory techniques. The ideal attitude is one of curiosity and playfulness. This is all good wholesome fun, and much of it old-fashioned by today’s standards, but also more and more forgotten amidst the fascination with, and reliance on, electronic devices. In fact, as we accelerate into the digital frontier, we are realizing the importance of ancient wisdom. It’s like the modern actress Tia Mowry said, “I like to embrace natural beauty. I try to get at least eight hours of sleep, drink a lot of water, and exercise.”

A more detailed approach can be summed up by the following ten categories, which I call, The Mastery Checklist:

1. Keep your immediate environment free of allergens, toxins, molds and chemicals. Study in good lighting, with good posture, and keep your space neat and organized.

2. Drink plenty of clean water and avoid sugary beverages.

3. Practice good personal hygiene, including frequent hand-washing.

4. Establish your healthy eating plan; avoid overly processed foods and refined sugars, etc. Eat real food.

5. Move your body most every day, working toward higher intensity interval training over time. Practice good posture and breathing habits throughout the day.

6. Get good sleep in a dark bedroom for quality and quantity. Also, practice stress management techniques like meditation.

7. Practice positivity and character building, goal setting, daily planning, time-management, memory techniques, and excellent study habits.

8. Establish financial fitness; practice discipline, saving, investing, and generosity.

9. Deepen social connections; reaching out to family and friends, keeping a sense of global awareness.

10. Cap it all off with connection to nature, solitude, spirituality, and the arts.

So there you have it. Just do all of those things on a regular basis and your brain will be at its best, soaking up all the knowledge around you, full of inspirations to innovate, succeed, and maybe even change the world for the better.

You might have looked at the list and thought, that’s nothing new or game-changing, but as we explore each area, you might be surprised to discover ways in which you are not practicing true mastery of these issues. The legendary psychologist Milton H. Erickson said, “What is easiest to see is often overlooked.”

In the DaVinci Code, the clues were out in the open, on display in the most viewed art galleries in the world, and yet hidden within the artwork until you know what to look for. In our case, some of the components are so obvious that we don’t pay any attention to them, which is to our detriment.

All of the things on the master checklist play a role in optimal health and brain-power. You can take the assessment at the end of the book to give yourself a starting grade. Even if your holistic score is low, just take it one section at a time. The puzzle eventually fills in. Imagine your health is like a tall building where every floor requires maintenance, and you are the superintendent of the structure. If there are problems on any one of the floors it can cause the whole building to fail inspection, or a fire-hazard in any of the rooms can burn the whole place down. Everything is interconnected, and even little things can make a big difference, especially over time. The sooner you uncover potential problems the better.

Sir Lawrence Olivier said, “Use your strengths. Aspire to your weaknesses.” It is difficult to appreciate the magnitude of the habits that are set in place at an early age when neuroplasticity is at its greatest. The brain is wired by our activities and behaviors, constantly reshaping itself throughout life. The neurons that fire together wire together, and every aspect of your life is interconnected. For example, playing a musical instrument increases the areas in the brain that make language acquisition easier. Motor skill development from sports training improves regions in the brain associated with mathematics. Harmonious social interconnections support a healthy immune system, and nervous system, (brain, et cetera).

The same is true for all of the elements of the holistic health program. Doing things that help the brain to function at its best makes it more likely that you will choose wisely among the options available to you, such as continuing to do the things that keep your physiology supportive of clear-mindedness, which will affect every aspect of your academic achievement, including character development and traits like a positive attitude, resilience, and a growth mindset. Mind / body mastery is a way of managing your overall mood and motivation.

So before jumping into the study habits and memory techniques themselves, which sometimes get all the attention at the expense of these foundational elements, this Integrative Health & Fitness approach first prepares the conditions that allow for optimal brain function to take place, giving you every advantage possible for getting great grades in every aspect of life.

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Areas of Brain Optimization

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Introduction

Integrative Brain Optimization (Part One)

Welcome to Getting Great Grades -- mind/body mastery for academic excellence!

Getting your best grades requires an optimized brain, as well as excellent study habits. With all of the challenges facing students these days, it seems you could use all the help you can get. This blog sets out to give you that help, in the form of a concise yet comprehensive learning-maximization method. Everything matters, and even little things can make a big difference, especially over time; so the sooner you start putting it all together the better.

In Latin, the phrase “mens sana in corpore sano,” a sound mind in a sound body, still sums it up quite nicely. But with the prevalence of fast food, colored sugar water, a polluted natural environment, tech-induced sedentariness and blue-light toxicity, habitual sleep deprivation, poor hydration, hyper self-image consciousness, socio-dynamic stress levels on the rise from overwhelming issues like mass shootings, mass extinctions, and climate change—just to name a few—simply getting from one day to the next can feel like an achievement. When times are tough, it’s even more important to be your best. We cannot expect learning, judgment, mood and behavior to flourish if the physiology is compromised. We can get used to feeling a certain way, even if it’s not optimal. How would you know how good you could feel until you experienced it? How mentally powerful are you capable of being? It makes sense to try and find out. This blog is a user’s guide to practical mind/body mastery in the modern world, for scholastic (and post scholastic) accomplishment.