Boosting Your Brain Power

The Brain – is wider than the Sky –
For – put them side by side –
The one the other will contain
With ease – and You – beside
- Emily Dickinson

Weighing in at a little over three pounds and possessing some 10 billion neurons, the human brain is a remarkable organ whose mysteries scientists and philosophers have been trying to unravel for nearly 2,500 years. So intricate and complex are its functions that even the most sophisticated computer can’t begin to stimulate the thought processes. By understanding more about how the brain operates and what enhances and inhibits thinking, however, you can use your own gray matter to the better advantage. For starters, try a few of these strategies to boost your brain power.

Use it or lose it. Yes, there is something to this old adage. If you want to avoid brain atrophy, you’ve got to exercise your mind on a regular basis. The mechanism by which the brain is able to learn, remember and think is the synapse, the connection that allows one brain cell to communicate with another. Apparently, the more experiences a person has – regardless of age – the more connections are formed, and having more synapses creates an intellectual reserve or storehouse. Those who have earned doctorate degrees, for example, seem to possess more complicated neural webs than high school dropouts and have more “oligodendroglia”, helper cells that speed communication among neurons. (Albert Einstein, by the way, was one of the heavyweight champs when it comes to oligodendroglia: He had four times more than the brains of 11 gifted people studied by a University of California Berkeley, researcher!) To increase our own synaptic quotient, it pays to read widely, enroll in classes, wander through museums, learn to play a musical instrument, or take up scuba diving – anything that keeps those neuron firing!

Sleep on it. Adequate sleep contributes to overall mental health as well as the ability to function effectively during waking hours. Afternoon naps and even periodic catnaps have been shown to improve alertness. Studies of the human brain also reveal that, when we sleep, the subconscious mind is still hard at work solving problems and generating new ideas. A good night’s sleep and a short nap during the day will prevent debilitating fatigue and help you maintain your creative momentum.

During the early stages of sleep you can also take advantage of your more free-wheeling, imaginative theta waves. These brain wave patterns tend to occur most frequently during the hypnagogic state, a twilight zone bordering on sleep where dreams and reality mix. Thomas Edison relied on this state as a way to connect with his own creative faculties. He often rested in a chair with his arms draped over the side, a ball bearing in each hand. As he dozed off, the ball bearings would drop and awaken him, and he’d jot down any ideas that popped into his head.

Maybe you won’t discover something like the incandescent light bulb during one of your hypnagogic states, but, who knows? It might just pay to keep a pad and pencil on your nightstand.

Tap into your intuition. “Intuition means relinquishing control of the thinking mind and trusting the vision of the unconscious’, say Daniel Goleman, Paul Kaufman and Michael Ray, authors of The Creative Spirit. Unfortunately, because it can’t be quantified or rationally justified, they say, intuition is often regarded skeptically in the workplace.
Mounds of paperwork, meetings, incessant interruptions caused by telephones, and personal responsibilities deprive people of one of the most critical resources for intuitive thought: time! In spite of the myriad demands imposed by work and family life, try to reserve a quiet interlude each day for meditation, reflection and yes, daydreaming.

Play a little Mozart. The next time you head to your favourite music store to purchase the latest country and western , jazz or rock release, you might want to throw in a Mozart CD, too. In a recent study reported in the British science journal Nature, brain researches discovered that listening to classical music can actually make you smarter!

Just what it is about Mozart that turns on the brain is still under investigation. According to Gordon Shaw, a University of California, Irvine, physics professor involved in the study, the answer could lie in the stimulation of the organ’s intricate neural network. He believes that the structure of Mozart’s music may trigger a series of neural firings in much the same way that a vibrating piano string causes neighbouring strings to also vibrate.

Avoid “downshifting.” Fear is a powerful inhibitor of rational thought; in fact, brain researchers have identified a phenomenon called “downshifting” that occurs when we find ourselves in fearful or threatening situations. The brain engages in a defensive maneuver and abandons the neocortex – the region where language, creative thinking and decision-making capacities reside – and reverts to more primitive parts of the brain governed by “fight or flight” survival responses. In this state, you may be able to lift a car off an injured person but find yourself unable to utter a single intelligible sound in front of an audience.

One way to avoid the thought-crippling effects of downshifting is to use visualization techniques. The mind, for all its wonders, is easily deceived: When you experience the real thing, the brain responds as if you’ve already done it before. Practice – even when it occurs in your imagination – makes perfect.

Couch potatoes: repent and relent! The long period of physical inactivity that characterize our lives today – whether we’re trapped behind a desk or entrenched in front of the television – have a decidedly negative impact on our ability to sustain mental effort. Such inactivity often results in “oxygen-starved fatigue,” a term coined by Peter M. Miller, author of The Hilton Executive Stamina Program. He recommends taking periodic “oxygen breaks” by relaxing and breathing deeply for several minutes.
Physical exercise, too, helps increase blood and oxygen flow to the brain and may contribute to changes in the neurotransmitters. “While you’re improving your body’s metabolism through exercise, you may also boosting your cerebral metabolism,” suggests Charles Emery, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Duke University and an exercise and cognition teacher.

Finally, activities like jogging, walking and aerobics increase the brain’s production of endorphins, a natural chemical that possesses pain-killing qualities, enhances the immune system and generates a feeling of euphoria. People who exercise at least three times a week for 30 minutes typically experience fewer illnesses and are less prone to fatigue and depression.

Think twice about what you put in your mouth. The forgetfulness and fuzzy thinking we often attribute to overwork or aging may be a function of what we choose to put in our bodies. The smokers had cloudier memories and shorter attention spans than non-smokers. Apparently, nicotine lowers the level of the brain chemical required for short-term memory. The effects of alcohol are even more dramatic: Alcohol actually destroys brain cells. Finally, it pays to belly up to the water bar. Because the composition of the brain is about 75 percent H2O, water intake is essential for energy and peak performance. Dehydration can contribute to fatigue, headache and mental confusion.

As the French mathematician, physicist and philosopher Rene Descartes once said: “It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well”.

This article was written by Deborah Flores, California.

p/s: Sebagai seorang Muslim, menghafal Al-Quran dan berzikir dapat menguatkan minda dan mengekalkan kesihatan mental. Wallahu’alam.

“Ya Rabb, sungguh sempurna ciptaanMu…”

Kematian: Satu Kejadian atau Satu Proses?

Apakah yang sebenarnya terjadi pada otak and daya sedar (consciousness) manusia ketika maut menghampiri kita?

Inilah perkara yang menjadi tanda tanya dikalangan para ahli sains Barat mengenai kematian dan mereka sedang membuat kajian mengenainya. Kajian mengenai perkara ini yang dinamakan AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) telah dilancarkan pada 11 Sept 2008 di satu symposium antarabangsa di United Nation.

Menurut kebanyakan report yang ada, apabila maut menghampiri manusia akan datang satu cahaya putih (malaikat maut kot?) dan ulang tayang segala memori (a replay of memories). Ketua kajian, Dr Sam Parnia dari University of Southampton UK, berkata: “Berbeza dengan persepsi biasa, kematian itu tiada jangkamasa yang tepat (death is not a specific moment), ia bermula dengan jantung berhenti berdenyut, paru-paru berhenti bekerja dan otak berhenti berfungsi – satu keadaan perubatan yang dinamakan “cardiac arrest” dan mengikut kaedah biologi dinamakan “clinical death”.

Menurut artikel ni, para saintis Barat telah lama membuat kajian untuk mencari definasi mati dan untuk menentukan masa yang tepat kematian itu berlaku. Dan sekarang kebanyakan doktor-doktor Barat mengakui kematian adalah lebih kepada satu proses daripada satu kejadian. Menurut Dr Parnia lagi, “ketika keadaan kekejangan urat saraf (cardiac arrest), ketiga-tiga kriteria kematian hadir dalam jangkamasa tertentu, dari beberapa saat hingga satu jam atau lebih. Apa yang manusia alami ketika keadaan ‘cardiac arrest’(atau nazak, lebih tepatnya) dapat memberikan satu pemahaman yang unik tentang apa yang kita semua akan alami semasa proses kematian”.

Para kajian AWARE akan mengkaji apa yang terjadi pada otak bila badan mula tidak berfungsi, samada manusia boleh mendengar atau melihat semasa nazak dan apa yang berlaku ketika nyawa keluar dari badan.

SubhanAllah, jawapannya telah ada 1429 tahun yang lalu. Mukjizat Rasulullah s.a.w. yang masih kekal hingga kehari ini. Mungkin mereka ingin mengetahui secara biologi apakah yang terjadi pada tubuh manusia, tetapi jika mereka ingin mengetahui berkenaan dengan nyawa/roh, alangkah malangnya mereka.

Manusia tidak diberi ilmu untuk membongkar rahsia roh dan mati. Persoalan mati adalah urusan Allah Taala; sebagaimana yang dijelaskan oleh firman Allah s.w.t:
“Dan mereka bertanya kepadamu (Muhammad) tentang roh, katakanlah: Roh itu termasuk urusan Tuhanku” (Surah Al-Isra’, ayat 85)

Dan tiada siapa di kalangan manusia yang masih hidup mengetahui keadaan sebenar orang yang sedang menghadapi kematian kerana kematian itu hanya dirasai oleh orang yang mati sahaja. Melalui wahyu Allah s.w.t., hanya Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. sahaja yang dapat menceritakan keadaan sebenar apa yang dirasai oleh orang yang sedang menghadapi kematian. Baginda memberitahu kesakitan yang dialami ketika dicabut nyawa itu seperti ditetak seratus kali dengan pedang yang tajam atau seperti dikoyak kulit dari daging ketika hidup-hidup.

Kematian itu berlaku pada jasad manusia secara beransur-ansur, bermula dari hujung kaki dan beransur ke peha, beransur ke dada, ke kerongkong dan akhirnya roh ditarik melalui ubun-ubun kepala. Malaikat maut melawat kita sebanyak 360 kali sehari, iaitu lebih kurang setiap 3 minit sekali. Ingatlah manusia, setiap kita menunggu giliran untuk dicabut nyawa oleh malaikat maut, tidak akan lambat atau cepat walau sesaat. Berdoalah semoga diakhir hayat kita nanti disudahi dengan kebaikan (husnul khatimah).

Ingin aku khabarkan kepada saintis2 itu, rujuklah Al-Quran dan Al-Hadis, anda tentu dapat jawapannya. Tidak semua kejadian alam dan manusia boleh dirungkai dengan kajian sains…Berimanlah kepada Allah, Dialah Al-Muhyi, Al-Mumiitu.

“Katakanlah: “Kalau sekiranya lautan menjadi tinta untuk (menulis) kalimat-kalimat Tuhanku, sungguh habislah lautan itu sebelum habis (ditulis) kalimat-kalimat Tuhanku, meskipun Kami datangkan tambahan sebanyak itu (pula)” Surah Al-Kahfi, ayat 109

Hang 2

Pada pagi Sabtu lepas, saya dijemput menghadiri satu majlis penyerahan sijil penyertaan kursus pengurusan jenazah di sebuah surau di Sentul. Diakhir majlis, pengerusi menyeru peserta-peserta kursus terutama golongan muda supaya ikut serta secara amali jika ada kematian agar ilmu yang dipelajari dapat diamalkan.

Terdengar soksek-soksek dikalangan peserta, “Eeii takut le”, “seram sejuk kaki tangan”, "tak berani tengok mayat", “aku lemah semangat”, “takut kena badi mayat”. Ada seorang peserta memberitahu dia ada 5 sijil pengurusan jenazah tapi sekalipun belum pernah menguruskan jenazah. Jadi assistant pun tidak, takut katanya.

Kenapa bila berkaitan dengan jenazah, ada satu macam perasaan yang timbul? Yang berani jadi takut. Yang kuat, jadi lemah semangat. Ada seorang ustaz bercerita, seorang anak terketar-ketar cuci kuku kaki jenazah bapanya dengan cotton bud, itu baru cuci kuku, belum lagi kena mandikan jenazah..

Mungkin sejak dahulu lagi, orang mati, kubur dan yang sewaktu dengannya selalunya dikaitkan dengan sesuatu yang menyeramkan iaitu..HANTU. Setiap bangsa ada trademark hantu. Hantu loncat le, hantu terbang le, hantu pakai kot le… Orang putih dengan drakula n vampire, orang cina dengan hantu tangan tegaknya. Tapi yang paling banyak variasi/spesies ialah hantu orang Melayu. Hantu pocong, polong, hantu raya, pontianak, hantu kum kum, hantu langsuir, hantu zaman jepun, mat lampir le…

Buatlah filem hantu, ada yang boleh dapat box-office. Filem hantu yang seram lagi menyeramkan ke, cerita komedi seram ke…Tengok filem hantu ni macam makan sambal belacan, walaupun takut nak tengok juga.. Tak kiralah filem Melayu ke, Thailand ke, Indonesia ke, Korea ke, Mat Salleh ke, kebanyakannya orang mati menjelma jadi hantu dan kawasan kubur tu digambarkan secara menyeramkan. Hantu ni mesti watak jahat, takde hantu baik…sebab tu bila nak takutkan budak kecik, ada yang cakap “Ha! pergi le, ada momok kat situ”…momok tu hantu spesies apa pun tak tau.

Tapi ada juga orang nangis tengok cerita hantu, filem Ghost lakonan Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. Cerita cinta tak kesampaian, cerita sesat lagi menyesatkan akidah..begitu juga cerita the Ghost Whisperer..ada ke roh orang mati, boleh masuk dlm badan orang hidup. Yang pelik golongan ni celebrate hari hantu sedunia – Halloween. Kesian, buah labu yang tak berdosa, menjadi mangsa..

Filem-filem yang mengaitkan orang mati/mayat/jenazah dengan hantu dan lain-lain kisah yang menyeramkan patutlah dipantau oleh pihak berkuasa kerana ada yang boleh merosakkan akidah, berunsur tahyul pun ada. Walaupun ada sesetengah mengatakan ianya hanyalah satu hiburan, ianya secara tidak langsung memberi konotasi yang tidak betul tentang orang mati dan boleh menimbulkan rasa takut, seram, dll. The eyes see, the mind evaluates and the worst scenario, it stays and become a mindset from generation to generation.

Bak kata pepatah orang putih: “Fear is like sitting on a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t bring you to anywhere”.

Semoga ada generasi pelapis yang berani menyahut cabaran menguruskan jenazah dari memandikan hinggalah mengapankan. Tuan punya diri? pun sama juga..Mungkin ada kes-kes terpencil yang tidak sampai ke pengetahuanku..Kita semua akan menjadi mayat…Wallahu’alam.

Ilmu tanpa amal, membazir
Amal tanpa ilmu, menyesatkan