A Thought for Today :

A purposeful life needs an axis or hinge to which it is firmly fixed and yet around which it can freely revolve. This axis or hinge has been, in my own case, a belief in the value of the human spirit and the virtue of human endeavour and achievement – Sir C.V.Raman

( Grateful thanks to Jon Sullivan and

Public-Domain-Photos.com for the above photo
(www.public-domain-photos.com)

A Thought for Today :

A purposeful life needs an axis or hinge to which it is firmly fixed and yet around which it can freely revolve. This axis or hinge has been, in my own case, a belief in the value of the human spirit and the virtue of human endeavour and achievement – Sir C.V.Raman

( Grateful thanks to Jon Sullivan and

Public-Domain-Photos.com for the above photo
(www.public-domain-photos.com)

How To-22: "How to Be Hygienic"

How to Be Hygienic

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

While standards of hygiene vary around the world, the purpose is the same: To promote health and prevent the spread of infectious disease. This remains an issue not only in developing countries, but also in industrialized nations as well.[1] Not only will being hygienic decrease your chances of getting sick (as well as protect the people around you), but it generally makes you feel, look and smell better.

Steps

1. Understand how infectious diseases spread: through certain bacteria and viruses generally referred to as pathogens or germs. They can be found in any bodily discharge, from blood to tears to feces and urine. Some can survive away from a body for extended periods of time and be picked up by another person later on.
2. Wash your hands after using the bathroom every time. According to Dr. Val Curtis at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, hands are a “superhighway for transmitting germs” that, if washed properly, could result in cutting the number of children who die from diarrheal diseases in half and reduce the number of upper respiratory tract diseases by a third.[2]If this isn’t convenient, then use hand sanitizer.
3. Avoid touching your (or anyone else’s) eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or any orifice unless you’re certain that your hands are clean.
4. Take a shower daily. A quick shower will suffice. Even wiping your body with a soapy, wet rag will achieve the desired effect, which is to remove any dead skin cells and unwanted visitors from the surface of your skin.
5. Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze.
6. Clean your clothes and surroundings regularly. The idea is to remove any lingering germs from any surface you regularly come in contact both at home and at work or school (e.g. your office phone handset, your desk, your sheets, toilet bowl seat).

Tips

• Keep your nails clean. If possible, trim them weekly. Brush them daily with soap so that no dirt or residue remains beneath the nail. Don’t bite your nails, either.
• Brush and floss your teeth regularly to keep your mouth and gums from becoming a home for germs. This is especially important if you share food, drinks, and/or open-mouth kisses with others. It will also help to prevent bad breath.
• If you’re around animals of any kind, don’t touch them before eating. If you do, be sure to wash your hands before eating.
• Don’t lick your fingers (such as when turning pages in a book).
• Menstruating women should take care to change pads or tampons frequently. Some menstrual cups can be sanitized by boiling between periods.
• Uncircumcised men should clean daily under the foreskin with soap and water.

Related wikiHows

• How to Bathe When Water Is Scarce
• How to Use Hand Sanitizer
• How to Sanitize a Public Toilet
• How to Protect Yourself from Gym Germs
• How to Avoid Food Poisoning
• How to Perform Wudu

Sources and Citations

• http://www.ifh-homehygiene.org/2003/2public/2pubgu00.asp

1. ↑ http://www.unilever.com.au/ourvalues/nutritionhygienepersonalcare/hygieneandpersonalcare/
2. ↑ http://www.unilever.com.au/ourvalues/nutritionhygienepersonalcare/hygieneandpersonalcare/

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Be Hygienic. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Brainstorm

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Brainstorming is one of the more common types of informal invention. It should be used when writers encounter writers’ block or when they are not sure what to write about. Brainstorming can also be used to guide writers in a certain direction if they already have a topic or idea that they wish to explore. This exercise helps writers to gather their thoughts and ideas before they begin a paper or other document. The end result of brainstorming should be lists of words that are somehow related in the writer’s mind. These lists may be helpful in the preliminary writing process. Here are some guidelines for this type of invention:

Steps

1. Set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Write a topic word or a thought that you would like to explore, such as education or government at the top of your paper, and then continue writing words or phrases in list form down the page until your time has run out.
3. Never stop writing. Even if you have to write down an idea that’s completely stupid and wouldn’t work, it’s better than stopping. Your pen should never stop.
4. Assume that no word that you write is self-explanatory, so continue to focus on one topic word until you feel like you cannot describe it in any further detail, or in other words, a deeper look at an individual or minute part of a larger whole.
5. If you get stuck, look back at your lists to see if any terms need more explanation.
6. This is also an uncensored practice, so no corrections are allowed during the brainstorming process.
7. When you are finished brainstorming, re-organize your terms into lists that make sense for your paper topic.
8. If you have enough to start your paper or document, then begin working on your rough draft. If you do not have enough ideas, try another informal invention technique such as freewriting or mapping.
9. Grab a dictionary, and find random words, either with your eyes closed as you stab a page, or the first interesting word that grabs your attention when flicking through. write them down, then write down the first couple of things that come to your mind for each word.and go from there.

Warnings

• Brainstorming is not guaranteed to break the toughest writers’ block, but it should give you an idea of where you are going with your writing process.

Related wikiHows

• How to Freewrite
• How to Make a Mind Map
• How to Exercise an Open Mind
• How to Meditate
• How to Write Fiction
• How to Clean a Book

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Brainstorm. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Brainstorm

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Brainstorming is one of the more common types of informal invention. It should be used when writers encounter writers’ block or when they are not sure what to write about. Brainstorming can also be used to guide writers in a certain direction if they already have a topic or idea that they wish to explore. This exercise helps writers to gather their thoughts and ideas before they begin a paper or other document. The end result of brainstorming should be lists of words that are somehow related in the writer’s mind. These lists may be helpful in the preliminary writing process. Here are some guidelines for this type of invention:

Steps

1. Set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Write a topic word or a thought that you would like to explore, such as education or government at the top of your paper, and then continue writing words or phrases in list form down the page until your time has run out.
3. Never stop writing. Even if you have to write down an idea that’s completely stupid and wouldn’t work, it’s better than stopping. Your pen should never stop.
4. Assume that no word that you write is self-explanatory, so continue to focus on one topic word until you feel like you cannot describe it in any further detail, or in other words, a deeper look at an individual or minute part of a larger whole.
5. If you get stuck, look back at your lists to see if any terms need more explanation.
6. This is also an uncensored practice, so no corrections are allowed during the brainstorming process.
7. When you are finished brainstorming, re-organize your terms into lists that make sense for your paper topic.
8. If you have enough to start your paper or document, then begin working on your rough draft. If you do not have enough ideas, try another informal invention technique such as freewriting or mapping.
9. Grab a dictionary, and find random words, either with your eyes closed as you stab a page, or the first interesting word that grabs your attention when flicking through. write them down, then write down the first couple of things that come to your mind for each word.and go from there.

Warnings

• Brainstorming is not guaranteed to break the toughest writers’ block, but it should give you an idea of where you are going with your writing process.

Related wikiHows

• How to Freewrite
• How to Make a Mind Map
• How to Exercise an Open Mind
• How to Meditate
• How to Write Fiction
• How to Clean a Book

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Brainstorm. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Improve Your Memory

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Wouldn’t it be nice to just look at a page and never forget what was on there? What if you could never again forget a friend’s birthday? The bad news is, not everyone has a photographic memory, otherwise known as eidetic memory. Only a few actually have it, the rest rely on mnemonic devices. The good news, however, is that everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started.

Steps

1. Convince yourself that you do have a good memory that will improve. Too many people get stuck here and convince themselves that their memory is bad, that they are just not good with names, that numbers just slip out of their minds for some reason. Erase those thoughts and vow to improve your memory. Commit yourself to the task and bask in your achievements — it’s hard to keep motivated if you beat yourself down every time you make a little bit of progress.
2. Keep your brain active. Regularly “exercising” the brain keeps it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills—especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument—and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.
3. Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental “pictures.”
4. Reduce stress. Chronic stress, although it does not physically damage the brain, can make remembering much more difficult. Even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.
5. Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine). A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, blueberries, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Feed your brain with such supplements as Thiamine, Vitamin E, Niacin and Vitamin B-6. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.
6. Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don’t really learn people’s names at first because we aren’t really concentrating on remembering them. You’ll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you’ll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you’re able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.
7. Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you’re trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.
8. Create vivid, memorable images. You remember information more easily if you can visualize it. If you want to associate a child with a book, try not to visualize the child reading the book – that’s too simple and forgettable. Instead, come up with something more jarring, something that sticks, like the book chasing the child, or the child eating the book. It’s your mind – make the images as shocking and emotional as possible to keep the associations strong.
9. Repeat things you need to learn. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you’ll remember it, right? It’s a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker’s name or your best friend’s birthday, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.
10. Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you’ll find it easier to remember all four.
11. Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn’t improve your memory, you’ll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won’t have to search for your keys anymore).
12. Try meditation. Research now suggests that people who regularly practice “mindfulness” meditation are able to focus better and may have better memories. Mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight meditation) is the type commonly practiced in Western countries and is easy to learn. Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital show that regular meditation thickens the cerebral cortex in the brain by increasing the blood flow to that region. Some researchers believe this can enhance attention span, focus, and memory.
13. Sleep well. The amount of sleep we get affects the brain’s ability to recall recently learned information. Getting a good night’s sleep – a minimum of seven hours a night – may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.
14. Build your memorization arsenal. Learn pegs, memory palaces, and the Dominic System. These techniques form the foundation for mnemonic techniques, and will visibly improve your memory.
15. Venture out and learn from your mistakes. Go ahead and take a stab at memorizing the first one hundred digits of pi, or, if you’ve done that already, the first one thousand. Memorize the monarchs of England through your memory palaces, or your grocery list through visualization. Through diligent effort you will eventually master the art of memorization.

What is memory?
Simply put, memory is the mental activity of recalling information that you have learned or experienced. That simple definition, though, covers a complex process that involves many different parts of the brain and serves us in disparate ways.
Memory can be short-term or long-term. In short-term memory, your mind stores information for a few seconds or a few minutes: the time it takes you to dial a phone number you just looked up or to compare the prices of several items in a store. Such memory is fragile, and it’s meant to be; your brain would soon read “disk full” if you retained every phone number you called, every dish you ordered in a restaurant, and the subject of every ad you watched on TV. Your brain is also meant to hold an average of seven items, which is why you can usually remember a new phone number for a few minutes but need your credit card in front of you when you’re buying something online.
Long-term memory involves the information you make an effort (conscious or unconscious) to retain, because it’s personally meaningful to you (for example, data about family and friends); you need it (such as job procedures or material you’re studying for a test); or it made an emotional impression (a movie that had you riveted, the first time you ever caught a fish, the day your uncle died). Some information that you store in long-term memory requires a conscious effort to recall: episodic memories, which are personal memories about experiences you’ve had at specific times; and semantic memories (factual data not bound to time or place), which can be everything from the names of the planets to the color of your child’s hair. Another type of long-term memory is procedural memory, which involves skills and routines you perform so often that they don’t require conscious recall.
Certain areas of the brain are especially important in the formation and retention of memory:

• The hippocampus, a primitive structure deep in the brain, plays the single largest role in processing information as memory.
• The amygdala, an almond-shaped area near the hippocampus, processes emotion and helps imprint memories that involve emotion.
• The cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, stores most long-term memory in different zones, depending on what kind of processing the information involves: language, sensory input, problem-solving, and so forth.

In addition, memory involves communication among the brain’s network of neurons, millions of cells activated by brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Stages of memory foundation and maintenance

There are three stages that the brain goes through in forming and retaining memories.
Acquisition → Consolidation → Retrieval
New information enters your brain along pathways between neurons in the appropriate area of the brain. The key to encoding information into your memory is concentration; unless you focus on information intently, it goes “in one ear and out the other.” This is why teachers are always nagging students to pay attention!
If you’ve concentrated well enough to encode new information in your brain, the hippocampus sends a signal to store the information as long-term memory. This happens more easily if it’s related to something you already know, or if it stimulates an emotional response.
When you need to recall information, your brain has to activate the same pattern of nerve cells it used to store it. The more frequently you need the information, the easier it is to retrieve it along healthy nerve cell connections.

Tips for memory improvements

Do you feel that you have a poor memory? You may just have some less-than-effective habits when it comes to taking in and processing information. Barring disease, disorder, or injury, you can improve your ability to learn and retain information.
Brain exercises
Memory, like muscular strength, is a “use it or lose it” proposition. The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information.
Novelty and sensory stimulation are the foundation of brain exercise. If you break your routine in a challenging way, you’re using brain pathways you weren’t using before. This can involve something as simple as brushing your teeth with your nondominant hand, which activates little-used connections on the nondominant side of your brain. Or try a “neurobic” exercise – an aerobic exercise for your brain – (see Keep Your Brain Alive Exercise) that forces you to use your faculties in unusual ways, like showering and getting dressed with your eyes closed. Take a course in a subject you don’t know much about, learn a new game of strategy, or cook up some recipes in an unfamiliar cuisine. That’s the most effective way to keep your synapses firing.

General guidelines to improve memory

In addition to exercising your brain, there are some basic things you can do to improve your ability to retain and retrieve memories:

1. Pay attention. You can’t remember something if you never learned it, and you can’t learn something — that is, encode it into your brain — if you don’t pay enough attention to it. It takes about eight seconds of intent focus to process a piece of information through your hippocampus and into the appropriate memory center. So, no multitasking when you need to concentrate! If you distract easily, try to receive information in a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.
2. Tailor information acquisition to your learning style. Most people are visual learners; they learn best by reading or otherwise seeing what it is they have to know. But some are auditory learners who learn better by listening. They might benefit by recording information they need and listening to it until they remember it.
3. Involve as many senses as possible. Even if you’re a visual learner, read out loud what you want to remember. If you can recite it rhythmically, even better. Try to relate information to colors, textures, smells and tastes. The physical act of rewriting information can help imprint it onto your brain.
4. Relate information to what you already know. Connect new data to information you already remember, whether it’s new material that builds on previous knowledge, or something as simple as an address of someone who lives on a street where you already know someone.
5. Organize information. Write things down in address books and datebooks and on calendars; take notes on more complex material and reorganize the notes into categories later. Use both words and pictures in learning information.
6. Understand and be able to interpret complex material. For more complex material, focus on understanding basic ideas rather than memorizing isolated details. Be able to explain it to someone else in your own words.
7. Rehearse information frequently and “over-learn”. Review what you’ve learned the same day you learn it, and at intervals thereafter. What researchers call “spaced rehearsal” is more effective than “cramming.” If you’re able to “over-learn” information so that recalling it becomes second nature, so much the better.
8. Be motivated and keep a positive attitude. Tell yourself that you want to learn what you need to remember, and that you can learn and remember it. Telling yourself you have a bad memory actually hampers the ability of your brain to remember, while positive mental feedback sets up an expectation of success.

Mnemonic devices to improve memory

Mnemonics (the initial “m” is silent) are clues of any kind that help us remember something, usually by causing us to associate the information we want to remember with a visual image, a sentence, or a word.
Common types of mnemonic devices include:

1. Visual images – a microphone to remember the name “Mike,” a rose for “Rosie.” Use positive, pleasant images, because the brain often blocks out unpleasant ones, and make them vivid, colorful, and three-dimensional — they’ll be easier to remember.
2. Sentences in which the first letter of each word is part of or represents the initial of what you want to remember. Millions of musicians, for example, first memorized the lines of the treble staff with the sentence “Every good boy does fine” (or “deserves fudge”), representing the notes E, G, B, D, and F. Medical students often learn groups of nerves, bones, and other anatomical features using nonsense sentences.
3. Acronyms, which are initials that creates pronounceable words. The spaces between the lines on the treble staff, for example, are F, A, C, and E: FACE.
4. Rhymes and alliteration: remember learning “30 days hath September, April, June, and November”? A hefty guy named Robert can be remembered as “Big Bob” and a smiley co-worker as “Perky Pat” (though it might be best to keep such names to yourself).
5. Jokes or even off-color associations using facts, figures, and names you need to recall, because funny or peculiar things are easier to remember than mundane images.
6. “Chunking” information; that is, arranging a long list in smaller units or categories that are easier to remember. If you can reel off your Social Security number without looking at it, that’s probably because it’s arranged in groups of 3, 2, and 4 digits, not a string of 9.
7. “Method of loci”: This is an ancient and effective way of remembering a lot of material, such as a speech. You associate each part of what you have to remember with a landmark in a route you know well, such as your commute to work.

Healthy habits to improve memory

Treating your body well can enhance your ability to process and recall information.

• Regular exercise
  • Increases oxygen to your brain.
  • Reduces the risk for disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
  • May enhance the effects of helpful brain chemicals and protect brain cells.

• Managing stress
  • Cortisol, the stress hormone, can damage the hippocampus if the stress is unrelieved.
  • Stress makes it difficult to concentrate.

• Good sleep habits
  • Sleep is necessary for memory consolidation.
  • Sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea leave you tired and unable to concentrate during the day.

• Not smoking
  • Smoking heightens the risk of vascular disorders that can cause stroke and constrict arteries that deliver oxygen to the brain.

Nutrition and Memory improvement

You probably know already that a diet based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and “healthy” fats will provide lots of health benefits, but such a diet can also improve memory. Research indicates that certain nutrients nurture and stimulate brain function.
B vitamins, especially B6, B12, and folic acid, protects neurons by breaking down homocysteine, an amino acid that is toxic to nerve cells. They’re also involved in making red blood cells, which carry oxygen. (Best sources: spinach and other dark leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, strawberries, melons, black beans and other legumes, citrus fruits, soybeans.)
Antioxidants like vitamins C and E, and beta carotene, fight free radicals, which are atoms formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Free radicals are highly reactive and can damage cells, but antioxidants can interact with them safely and neutralize them. Antioxidants also improve the flow of oxygen through the body and brain. (Best sources: blueberries and other berries, sweet potatoes, red tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, green tea, nuts and seeds, citrus fruits, liver.)
Omega-3 fatty acids are concentrated in the brain and are associated with cognitive function. They count as “healthy” fats, as opposed to saturated fats and trans fats, protecting against inflammation and high cholesterol. (Best sources: cold-water fish such as salmon, herring, tuna, halibut, and mackerel; walnuts and walnut oil; flaxseed and flaxseed oil)
Because older adults are more prone to B12 and folic acid deficiencies, a supplement may be a good idea for seniors. An omega-3 supplement (at any age) if you don’t like eating fish. But nutrients work best when they’re consumed in foods, so try your best to eat a broad spectrum of colorful plant foods and choose fats that will help clear, not clog, your arteries. Your brain will thank you!
See Helpguide’s Healthy Eating and Healthy Fats for more information.

Memory and aging

Several factors cause aging brains to experience changes in the ability to retain and retrieve memories:

• The hippocampus is especially vulnerable to age-related deterioration, and that can affect how well you retain information.
• There’s a relative loss of neurons with age, which can affect the activity of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters and their receptors.
• An older person often experiences decreased blood flow to the brain and processes nutrients that enhance brain activity less efficiently than a younger person.

However, in healthy older adults, these changes represent more of a slowing in the ability to absorb, store, and retrieve new information, not a loss. The factual information you’ve accumulated over the years remains largely intact, as does procedural memory. You can make and recall new long-term memories; the process just takes a little longer.
Of course, some older adults do develop more significant problems with memory that are the result of diseases such as Alzheimer’s or stroke; injury; poor nutrition; other physiological issues; or emotional problems.
For more information on aging and how it affects memory, see Helpguide’s Recognizing, Reducing and Preventing Age-Related Memory Loss.

Related links for improving your memory

Memory improvement
Theories And Processes – This article explains the steps of memory acquisition and retention, plus techniques for improving memory. (University of Texas at Austin)
Memory Improvement and Learning Skills – A resource chock-full of articles on every aspect of memory improvement. There are also sections titled Mnemonics, Amazing Brain, and Great Minds. (Project Happy Child, UK)
Don’t Forget! Playing Games With Memory – A series of four memory games designed for kids of all ages that test memory along with advice for improving memory. (The Exploratorium, San Francisco)
Keep Your Brain Alive Exercise – Illustrated memory improvement exercises that teach you to exercise your brain. These mental gymnastics strengthen nerve connections and activate little-used pathways in your brain to help keep your mind fit. (Neurobics.com)
Improving your memory – Simple, clearly presented guide to how reviewing, organizing, interpreting and making associations for what you learn can help you with memory improvement. (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Nutrition and memory improvement
Feed Your Head – Part of a special report on mental acuity, this article lists a number of foods that can help you stay sharp longer. (AARP)
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve Cognitive Function (commercial site) – Report on how fish oils, specifically DHA, help prevent memory loss. (Life Enhancement)
Memory and aging
Memory and Memory Loss – Excellent explanation for the layperson of how memory works and the different degrees of memory loss, plus guidelines for preserving memory function. (Duke University Medical Center)
Memory Loss with Aging: What’s Normal, What’s Not? (Commercial site) – Easy-to-read article about the normal changes in memory as we age, as well as information on how to tell if your memory problems are serious.
(FamilyDoctor.org).

Tips

• Most people’s brains are not very good at remembering abstract information, such as numbers. This is one of the things that separate those with eidetic memory from those with a great, normal memory. The key to being able to recall such things is to build associations and links that evoke the memory. This is why almost anybody with normal brain functioning can dramatically improve their ability to recall things using mnemonics. While building a memory palace, for example, actually requires that you “remember” more, by associating the thing to be remembered with other things (emotions, other memories, images, etc.) you build more mental “links” to the memory, thus making it easier to access.
• A large number of memory improvement products are available (a search on the internet will produce hundreds of such products). Most of these products actually teach you mnemonic strategies, and while some are no doubt bunk, some are legitimate.
• One easy method to help you remember people’s names is to look at the person when you are introduced and say the person’s name: “Nice to meet you, Bill.”
• Try memorizing the order of a deck of playing cards. Although this may seem like a pointless task, it will allow you to discover memorization techniques that work best for you.
• Try a tray of objects (say, 10 objects). Study them for 30 seconds. Take the tray away and write down all the objects you can. Increase the number of items for more mind excercise. Or get someone else to find the objects on the tray; this makes them harder to remember and will test you more.
• Put black ink at the end of your palm to remember any important thing for the next day or for that day itself. Whenever you see the black dot, you’ll remember what to do.
• Visualize whatever you have to do as part of something you see every day. For example, if you have to give your dog some medicine, visualize your dog in your fridge every time you walk past it or look inside. This will keep your dog fresh in your mind.
• Write the event or task down immediately. If you don’t have a pen, one thing you can do is change the time on your watch; later on you will remember why it is set at the wrong time. You could also wear your watch upside down.
• Write in a diary or journal every day without fail. Even small issues should be written down — this is a good way to make sure you don’t miss anything.
• Leave yourself a telephone message reminding yourself of important “to do” tasks.
• Memorize your favorite song or poem until you can say it to yourself without any help. Try to do this often.
• A study by Harvard University shows that people who sleep tend to remember things better. So sleep and see how much you remember things better.

Warnings

• If you notice a severe or sudden deterioration of memory, talk to your doctor immediately. Sometimes “senior moments” can be precursors to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
• While improving your ability to recall things can make a lot of tasks easier, it does not guarantee any sort of success in life.
• Exercise due diligence when purchasing a memory improvement product. Find out as much as you can about how the program works, and do your own research to determine if it will work for you. Some of these products are simply scams. Be especially wary of products that promise to improve your memory instantly or with little or no effort: effective strategies to improve recall take time and practice.
• While some herbal supplements that claim to improve memory may in fact work, there is no conclusive evidence that any of these are effective. Most are harmless, however, and may be worth a try, but exercise caution: some supplements can have harmful effects, and not all contain what they say they contain.

Related wikiHows

• How to Build a Memory Palace
• How to Memorize a List Using Numbers and Rhyming Words
• How to Memorize Lists Using the Pure Link System
• How to Memorize a List in Order
• How to Memorize a Grocery List
• How to Add 5 Consecutive Numbers Quickly
• How to Express Yourself

Sources and Citations

• Secrets of Phenomenal Memory Free Ebook Modern Mnemonics and memory imporevement. Free eBook and articles.

• MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine) Links to all sorts of scientific information on memory
• Slate.com Article about the U.S. National Memory Championships
• Wikipedia Article on mnemonics, with tons of examples
• NPR (Audio) Interview with 2006 U.S. Memory Champion, Joshua Foer
• NASA Tutorial on memory (with some fun exercises)
• PsychWWW.com Descriptions and applications of mnemonics
• Slate.com A review of some memory-enhancement products
• BBC Radio 4’s ‘the memory experience’
• How to get smarter, one breath at a time Time Magazine article reporting on the impact of meditation on the brain.

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Improve Your Memory. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Improve Your Visualization

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

This is a tutorial on how to improve your Visualization skills. It is a good technique to know and helps your imagination and gives you more vivid dreams.

Steps

1. Sit in a quiet room and dim the lights.
2. Make yourself comfortable.
3. Look around the room and notice everything in general – the lighting conditions, things on the wall, objects in the room, etc.
4. Close your eyes, and try to ‘see’ what is around you. Remember the images of objects and things in your room and recite where they are and what the objects look like.
5. Open your eyes and see if you correctly identified the things in and about your room!

Tips

• Try not to stress your eyes because then you will just get frustrated.
• Try to relax as much as you can.
• Do not sit in an extremely bright room, or in a very dark room.
• It helps to read books often – doing so will improve your creativity and visualization. Fiction novels are a great help in particular.

Warnings

• It may take a very long time for you to do it, but if you keep practicing you will get it. Make sure you don’t get frustrated.

Related wikiHows

• How to Be Happy Despite Solitude
• How to Escape to Your Mind
• How to Enjoy Pornography in the Comfort of Your Home
• How to Prevent Longterm Boredom

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Improve Your Visualization. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-21: "How to Get Rid of Black Circles Under Your Eyes"

How to Get Rid of Black Circles Under Your Eyes

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Skin discoloration under the eyes affects just about everybody at some time or another. For some of us, however, these “dark circles” are a near-constant bother. While these conditions are occasionally symptomatic of other illnesses, the usual cause is allergies, tiredness, or, unfortunately, heredity. No matter what the cause, you can still reduce the appearance of dark circles, and in some cases, you may be able to get rid of them altogether.

Steps

1. Establish whether or not this condition runs in your family. Dark circles are believed to frequently be hereditary. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything about the conditions, but you should be prepared for minimal success actually trying to get rid of them. Dark circles under the eye may also, in fact, be light carbon deposits that result from incomplete protein digestion. Incomplete protein digestion may result from insufficient hydrochloric acid in your stomach that may be caused from a lack of primarily B6 and Folic Acid. About 30% of the population does not absorb regular B6 (pydroxine) or folic acid and need to take in these vitamins in a different form or another way.
2. Identify allergens. Allergies may be the most common cause of skin discoloration under the eyes. If allergies are the root of your problem, you simply need to treat them or remove the allergen (i.e., the thing to which you are allergic). Seasonal allergy problems such as the hay fever can frequently be effectively treated with over-the-counter and prescription medications. For other allergies the best course of action is usually avoidance. If your dark circles or puffiness are constant, you may have an undetected food allergy or an allergy to a chemical in your home or workplace. Talk to a dermatologist for help determining what you may be allergic to. People with allergies also tend again to be deficient in B6, folic acid and B12 on occasion. Taking a multivitamin, if you don’t already, may help with your allergies as well as black circles.
3. Get plenty of sleep nightly. It’s not entirely clear why inadequate sleep results in dark circles under the eyes, but we’ve all seen it happen either to ourselves or someone we know. For one thing, lack of sleep tends to cause the skin to become paler (thus increasing the appearance of darkness under the eyes), and it reduces circulation. It’s also believed that too little time lying down is a cause in itself. Determine how much sleep you need (it’s usually 7-9 hours per night, but varies throughout different people) and try to get that amount regularly for a couple of weeks to see if that helps. Remember that alcohol and drugs can adversely affect the quality of your sleep; abstain from these products or use only in moderation for best results. A lack of sleep, coupled with poor vitamin absorption also tends to reduce adrenal function. The less adrenal function you have the less B6 you tend to absorb, the less B6 you absorb, the less well your adrenal glands work and alas you end up in a vicious circle. Sleep, regular vitamins for those that need them, and good calcium/magnesium support in the form of milk or good mineral supplement restores adrenal function. So if you want to break the cycle and the black circles under your eyes, you’ve got to reduce your stress, sleep more and take the proper vitamins and minerals to support the adrenal function in general.
4. Treat your skin while you sleep. There are overnight facial masques available that may help reduce the appearance of puffiness or discoloration, but you can also make your own. Just before you go to bed, take a washcloth and wet it just a bit with cold water. Then squeeze out any excess water and place it over your eyes as you sleep. Treating your skin may help, but the real problem may also be that you have a poor vitamin and mineral absorption problem that must also be corrected. Seeing a naturopathic physician may help for those people who suffer other ailments such as miscellaneous aches and pains that come and go and a general run down feeling.
5. Apply cool tea bags, an ice cube wrapped in soft cloth, or cucumber slices to your eyes daily. The tannin in tea bags has been shown to reduce swelling and discoloration, and cucumber slices have long been used to reduce puffiness and refresh the appearance of skin around the eyes. Lie down, preferably in the morning, and leave fresh cucumber slices or cool, damp caffeinated tea bags (you can refrigerate them overnight so they’ll be ready) over your eyes for about 10-15 minutes. Keep your eyes closed.
6. Try to relax the space. You can do this by wetting a cotton swab and then freezing it for a little while. Then you should gently wipe under your eyes in the areas where the circles are occurring. When wiping, close your eyes and try not to flinch.
7. Apply an eye cream containing vitamin K and retinol. Dark circles may be caused by a deficiency of vitamin K. Regardless of the cause, however, recent research has shown that skin creams containing these two ingredients reduce puffiness and discoloration significantly in many patients. Long-term daily use seems to have the greatest effect.
8. Avoid rubbing your eyes. Usually rubbing of the eyes is brought on by allergies, but not always. Regardless of the reason, stop doing it. The rubbing irritates the skin and can break tiny capillaries beneath the skin, causing both puffiness and discoloration.
9. Eat a healthy, balanced diet and drink plenty of water. A whole host of cosmetic problems can be attributed to vitamin deficiencies. Dark circles and puffiness are often attributed to lack of vitamin K or inadequate antioxidants. Be sure to get plenty of fruits and vegetables—especially cabbage, spinach, and other leafy green vegetables—and take a daily vitamin supplement if necessary. Get adequate fluids to improve circulation.
10. Reduce salt intake. Excess salt causes the body to retain water in unusual places, and this can result in puffiness under the eyes. Too much salt can also impair your circulation, and cause the blood vessels under the skin to appear bluer.
11. Quit smoking. Smoking causes vascular (blood vessel) problems that can not only threaten your life, but also make your blood vessels appear more prominent and bluer beneath the skin.
12. Cover the problem up with cosmetics. If all else fails, use a yellow or flesh-toned color which will camouflage the problem under your eyes.

Tips

• Using Blistex’s Lip Medex under your eyes also helps reduce the dark circles a lot. Just make sure you put it on in the morning before you put your make up on and allow time to calm down because your eyes will water but it works.
• Food allergies and sensitivities play a major part in under-eye circles. Processed foods with artificial colors and preservatives as well as milk allergies can cause this problem.
• Search the Internet which abounds with home remedies. While the most common are cucumbers and tea bags, there are a number of others. Feel free to test them out, as some may work for some people, but use common sense.
• Vitamin K cream helps to diminish dark under eye circles.
• The ingredient in Preparation H that once could shrink the area around the eyes is no longer put in the product in the US, according to their website, so unless you live in Canada, just pass on the Hemorrhoid creams.
• Cutting onions can help you to cry out some of the moisture under and around your eyes. However it isn’t recommended that you carry out this procedure daily but done short-term, it will reduce the darkness under the eyes somewhat. Using the tea bag method under your eyes straight afterwards also helps. The puffiness may not reduce immediately but it will shortly afterwards.
• Another trick is to put two tablespoons in the freezer for few minutes and apply on the eyes for few seconds, until they are warm. Re-apply if necessary.
• Dark circles may be caused by inflamed or enlarged veins beneath the skin. Try taking butcher’s broom. Taken daily, this common herb (used to treat weak circulation, hemorrhoids and varicose veins) has been effective in reducing dark circles.
• Wear sunscreen under your eyes, and if you wear it all the time(as you should), try to put a stronger spf under your eyes than you do on your face. This way the skin under your eyes does not darken as quickly as the rest of your face, so your circles seem lighter. If you do this all year, you may end up not needing concealer at all.
• Try eye exercizes. It can rejuvenate your periorbital skin by improving circulation.

Warnings

• Be careful about what type of teabag you use. If you have allergies a tea bag like chamomile might swell your eyes.
• Do not apply ice or extremely cold water directly to the skin around the eyes for more than a couple of seconds.
• Exercise caution when using a new cosmetic product or trying a home remedy. If the condition worsens, or if you exhibit other symptoms, discontinue use immediately and contact your primary care physician or dermatologist for severe or persisting symptoms.
• Consult a physician before considering using any expensive or invasive treatments. Not all Eye Circles are formed equally, and understanding and discussing the root causes of your dark circles with a qualified professional will ensure you don’t waste your money.
• We should all wear sunscreen daily, but if you don’t on your face never forget under your eyes. As your skin picks up color, the dark areas seem to fade because, they are not getting as tan as the surrounding skin. When you go to the beach apply numerous times during the day. Eventually most won’t need concealer and you are protecting it from sun damage.

Related wikiHows

• How to Cure Puffy Eyes
• How to Fall Asleep
• How to Sleep Better
• How to Drink More Water Everyday
• How to Prevent Wrinkles
• How to Exercise Your Eyes
• How to Take Care of Your Eyes
• How to Apply Mineral Makeup
• How to Apply Scene Eye Makup

Sources and Citations

• 5min – A video on how to get rid of puffy eyes in the morning 5min is a videopedia for instructinal videos. Source of images in this article, shared with permission.
• More on how to reduce under eye puffiness

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Get Rid of Black Circles Under Your Eyes. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-20: "How to Use Sound for Therapy"

How to Use Sound for Therapy

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

There is much information concerning the use of binaural beats to alter mind states. However, specific frequencies can also be used as an adjunct to treat a vast number of ailments, illnesses and conditions

Steps

1. All plants and creatures respond to sounds and vibrations. Some frequencies are beneficial, while others are detrimental to the well-being of different organisms.
2. Everything vibrates at its own frequency. Even seemingly solid objects have a frequency, this determined by the speed at which the electrons circle the nuclei of the atoms that make up the substance(s) of which the object(s) are composed.
3. Living organisms have higher frequencies than non-living objects and we can use sound and vibration to affect almost anything on Earth in one way or another. Sounds that are in harmony with living organisms promote health and growth, while sounds that are “out of phase” cause illness and stunt growth.
4. Each species of plant and animal has a spectrum of frequencies to which they respond favourably, and each individual in each species has specific frequencies which are more beneficial to it than the “background”? of frequencies that are salutary to the whole species. This means that it is theoretically possible to destroy organisms that are harmful to ourselves, our pets and other animals and our plants, both decorative and edible. As an aside, it is even said that the ancients used sound to lift huge stones and to enable them to fly around the world. These claims are hotly disputed by certain scientifically-minded “experts”?, who are nevertheless at a loss to explain how Edward Leedskalnin built his Coral Castle (look them up on a search engine) and how the authors of the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian documents knew so much about flying craft and “houses”?.
5. Readers can download a free demo version of Brainwave Generator at http://www.bwgen.com/ , which program demonstrates how sound and visual stimulation can affect brain states and enhance such activities (and inactivities) as learning, meditation, sleep etc.
6. A demo version of Tone Gen can be downloaded from http://www.nch.com.au/tonegen , which program can be used to create one’s own healing tones and binaural beats.
7. SBaGen — Binaural Beat Brain Wave Experimenter’s Lab is a free software (under the GNU General Public Licence), can be downloaded from http://uazu.net/sbagen/ that generates binaural tones in real-time according to a 24-hour programmed sequence read from a file. It can also be used to play a sequence on demand, rather than according to the clock, or to write a WAV file for playing later. Pink noise, MP3 and Ogg files may also be mixed with the binaural beats to provide background sounds. This tool is ideal for anyone who wishes to experiment with these techniques and do research into this for themselves.
8. Gnaural is a multi-platform programmable binaural-beat generator can be downloaded from http://gnaural.sourceforge.net/ an opensource binaural-beat generator released under the GNU General Public License.
9. Ken Adachi’s website http://educate-yourself.org/nch/ offers a set of Bio-Energetic Frequency Charts with a large list of ailments and conditions and the frequencies one can use to help combat them.
10. Learn more about Binaural Beats from http://web-us.com/binaural.htm
11. Many of the “carriers”? used to achieve certain of the lower, inaudible brain wave frequencies and most of the frequencies that combat diseases and ailments are very high-pitched sine waves that are irritating to peoples’ ears. One can counter this by using Tone Gen to create one’s own brainwave combinations, using much lower frequencies, such as 20 Hz on one channel and 27 Hz on the other. These “combine”? in the brain to give a 7 Hz frequency, which is in the Alpha range.
12. This writer has discovered that the sleep, Lucid Dream and healing frequencies are enhanced if the sound waves can impinge upon the body and has constructed a bed that takes advantage of this phenomenon. See accompanying illustration. On this bed, the Brainwave frequencies are fed to the patient via headphones, while the healing waves are fed to the speakers attached to the bed. The loudspeakers under the bed are channelled via an amplifier to the source of the sound, be it a CD player, computer or surround sound system. This bed is especially useful for treating ailments, as the frequencies pertaining to the ailment are fed to the speakers attached to the bed, where they impinge upon the body, while Delta frequencies are fed to headphones worn by the patient. The Delta frequencies help the mind to accelerate the healing process, whilst the appropriate frequencies that go into the body via the bed combat specific ailments. In this way, the irritating, high-pitched, healing Sine-wave frequencies are not heard by the patient, as the headphones apply Binaural beats to the patient’s ears, blocking out the healing sounds. It does, however, mean that two separate sources are required to provide the different sounds.
13. The human mind responds to frequencies between 0.5 and 40 Hz. Hz stands for “Hertz”, which can be described as “one cycle per second”; 100 Hz means “one hundred cycles per second”, and so on.
14. The following chart gives parameters for various brain states: Delta 0.5–4Hz Sleep and healing. Certain frequencies in the Delta range trigger the release of Growth Hormone, which promotes healing, regeneration and bodily repair.
15. Theta 4–8Hz Drowsy (also first stage of sleep), for meditation, learning and memory. Theta meditation increases creativity, learning, reduces stress and awakens intuition and other extra-sensory perception. This is also the Lucid Dream state.
16. Alpha 8–14Hz “Daydream state”?. Relaxed but alert, for relaxation and visualization. The Schuman Resonance occurs in this range.
17. Beta 14–30Hz Highly alert and focused: peak concentration and cognition.
18. When using Binaural Beats, you should experiment with various “carrier”? frequencies, from about 15 hertz upward. You can use combinations of 15 Hz on the left and 15.5 on the right to achieve 0.5 Hz; or 20 + 20.5 Hz etc. A frequency of 7 Hz can thus be made up of 15 + 22Hz; or 27+ 34 Hz; or 46 + 53 Hz: whichever is comfortable for you. Your family, friends and animals might require other combinations, so be prepared to experiment. Physical and mental comfort are a priority in any healing process, a situation of which many hospitals appear to be either unaware or unperturbed.
19. Once Tone Gen has been installed on your computer, set it up thus : select “Tone”. On the resulting dropdown, click “Stereo”; then, if you want to record the sound as a wave, click “Tone”?, then “Constant Specified Duration”?. Set the value to 60000ms, which is one minute. In the main window, double-click on “Sine Left Frequency” and set that value to, say, 20 Hz. Double-click “Sine Right Frequency” and set that to 27 Hz for a value of 7 Hz. You can also use fractions, for example 27.4 Hz.
20. If you want to save your frequencies, select “File” on the main window and from the drop-down “Save as wav…” and name it (for example “7 Hz on 20 Hz carrier”). Incidentally, each 60000ms sound wave occupies 10 Mb of space on your hard drive. They can then be played on Windows Media Player or other software (Winamp etc.). Thereafter, you can burn them to CD if you wish. Burning the sounds to CD is advantageous inthat one can then apply different frequencies to the ears and the body of the person using the bed. The Brain Wave frequencies can be fed to headphones via a portable CD- or MP3- player and the healing sounds via a computer amplified by a surround-sound system, for example.
21. The Sine wave is the most beneficial, but as it is irritating to the ears of some people, it is often masked with music or other sounds in commercially produced brain-state altering recordings. This, unfortunately, adds other frequencies and in so doing reduces the efficacy of the pure Sine wave’s effects.
22. If you have a CD Writer, you can burn dedicated, exclusive CDs for friends and loved ones as gifts to combat their various conditions and ailments, or to help them with their studies, or dispel insomnia. You will, of course, have to experiment with the people concerned in order to discover which frequency ranges are most comfortable and beneficial to them. Binaural beats are a bit like horoscopes inthat each person is an individual and the general run-of-the-mill offerings might not fully apply to everyone: one “size” does not necessarily fit all. Give instructions for them to relax and listen to the sounds using stereo headphones, or to make a “sound bed” like the one here illustrated.
23. One can also make a “portable” version of the healing mechanism, by separately insulating a pair of computer loudspeakers using small cardboard boxes and scrap polystyrene (Styrofoam) and holding the open sides against the body as the frequencies issue from them. See Illustration 2. The insulation will assist in containing the sound so that it does not overly disturb other people while in use.
24. Brainwave Generator has a singular advantage over Tone Gen as it has a feature that causes the computer screen to flash at the frequency of the brain state one is trying to achieve. With both visual and auditory stimuli in tandem, the brain responds more rapidly to achieve the desired brain state. This writer has not yet experimented with this particular feature when applied to combat diseases and other ailments. However, he is cognisant of colour therapy, so that he is comfortable with the idea that the flashing screen can have beneficial effects, especially since the software permits the user to specify the colours that flash on the screen.

Tips

• It normally takes people a long time to learn to meditate, but with the correct application of binaural beats in the 5 – 8 Hz range, a meditative state can be achieved within ten or so minutes for the dedicated novice, and within seconds for the veteran. In time, the requisite brain state can be achieved without the recordings as, with practice, the brain learns to invoke them on demand.
• The 0.5 to 3 Hz frequencies produce a “dead”?, dreamless state in which the body’s ability to heal itself is greatly enhanced. It can be used to great advantage upon ill people, but should be gradually introduced for short periods in the beginning. Once the patient shows improvement, the times can be progressively lengthened and interspersed with Theta sound waves, up to about 8 Hz.
• Theta frequencies in the vicinity of 5 to 7 Hz can help the body to rest completely, so that a period of thirty minutes in this state can produce an effect that is equivalent to four hours of sleep.

Warnings

• Night birds should not overdo the Theta state as a substitute for a good night’s sleep. The body needs sleep, during which period it repairs itself and seeks out any foreign bodies that may be trying to invade one’s system. People can assist this process by applying the deep Delta frequencies while they sleep.
• Be very aware that certain frequencies (they are different for different people) can cause great discomfort and even physical pain and illness … and never forget that too much of any good thing can have devastating effects.
• Do not confuse “sound therapy” or “music-as-therapy” with “music therapy”. Music therapy refers to the practice of a board-certified music therapist working with a client (or a group) to use music — usually live improvised music — as a means of achieving goals relating to areas such as self-expression, mood regulation, communication, interpersonal relationships, or reaching developmental milestones. Music therapy can only be practiced by someone with an advanced degree and appropriate clinical training and is not sold in a packaged self-help format such as books or CDs. Music therapists may incorporate techniques involving sound healing, but the fields are not the same thing and it is important to use correct terminology.

Related wikiHows

• How to Perform Self Hypnosis
• How to Check all Play Boxes in iTunes
• How to Meditate
• How to Give a Relaxing Massage
• How to Choose a Therapist

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Use Sound for Therapy. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-19: "How to Stop Nausea With Acupressure"

How to Stop Nausea With Acupressure

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

This is how to stop nausea with a quick Chinese Acupressure technique. This can be used on airplanes, with hangovers, and at sea. This is quick fix only. There are two wikiHows that addresses nausea self treatment in commendable depth.

Steps

1. Take your index finger and middle finger and place them on your wrist at the base of your palm to measure where your nausea acupressure points are.
2. Find your acupressure points — two fingers down the wrist from the base of your palm and centered on the wrist.
3. Take your thumb and index finger and press firmly on the points on both sides of the wrist when you feel nauseous. You should feel relief in 10-30 seconds.

Tips

• Check out the related wikiHows on how to treat nausea for more conventional and longer term self help.
• Don’t think about how unscientific Chinese medicine is while you do this. The effects may be reduced.

Warnings

• These are acupressure points, not acupuncture points. Do not use needles!
• This technique is effective. If it’s not you might consider medical attention.
• If you suffer from chronic nausea you should definitely seek medical attention even if the technique works. It is only a quick fix after all.

Related wikiHows

• How to Cure Nausea
• How to Deal With Chronic Unexplained Nausea

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Stop Nausea With Acupressure. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-18: "How to Use Music Therapy for Relaxation and Stress Management"

How to Use Music Therapy for Relaxation and Stress Management

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Research has demonstrated that a variety of music therapy relaxation and stress management approaches are effective for people requiring rehabilitation. In addition, these approaches are also effective for healthcare professionals and caregivers. Benefits include decreased heart and respiratory rate, blood pressure, anxiety, agitation and depression, along with general stress reduction, improved coping skills and better psychosocial adjustment. Music has also shown to be an effective sedative component in pre-operative and operative procedures. You can help yourself with stress management and relief by exploring the following self-help techniques, compiled by Institute for Music and Neurologic Function director of music therapy clinical training, Benedikte B. Scheiby, MA, MMEd. DPMT, CMT, LCAT.

Steps

1. Take notice of how listening to various types of music and nature sounds with or without music can help you relax.
2. If you play an instrument, record a piece of music that you find relaxing. Then listen to the tape when you need to relax.
3. Listen to relaxing background music at work or during lunch break. Add some body stretching at the same time. This also works just before going to sleep.
4. Participate in local community programs and centers that offer stress management and relaxation activities accompanied by music.
5. Place your hands on a drum and become aware of the many rhythms that exist within you such as your breathing and heartbeat. There is a rhythmical symphony that is the homeostasis of our biology. Breathe deeply and play this rhythm for 3 or 4 minutes. You may reconnect with your inner natural rhythms, intuition, and feelings, and ultimately feel renewed.
6. Consult with a music therapist to find effective recorded music for your needs.

Tips

• Music with a strong beat can stimulate the brain and ultimately cause certain physiological processes to attune to the rhythm of the music. This phenomenon is called entrainment.
• Slow rhythms can also encourage the slow brainwaves that are associated with meditative states.
• Stress may come from anxiety, fear or other emotions. Sudden or long-term illness can certainly be stressful, especially if the patient is experiencing pain or problems with breathing. Tension caused by pain manifests itself not only in the part of the body that is experiencing the pain; it can be felt as stomachache, headache, or neck or shoulder tension as well. Likewise, when there are problems taking a full breath or if the respiration rate is too fast, the body may respond with anxiety and fear. Music can elicit the body’s natural counterbalance to stress: The Relaxation Response. It is defined by being in a physical state of deep rest where the physical and emotional response to stress changes and may cause changes in heart rate, blood pressure, rate of breathing, metabolism and muscle tension.
• A music therapy practitioner can alleviate stress and help a person achieve the benefits of relaxation and stress reduction through a variety of specific active interventions that involve music.

Related wikiHows

• How to Think Clearly and Put Your Mind at Ease
• How to Massage Your Back With a Ball
• How to Relieve the Stress of a Runny Nose
• How to Chill

Sources and Citations

• Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, [1] – original source of content, shared with permission.

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Use Music Therapy for Relaxation and Stress Management. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Love

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Love is a strange thing. It can be the most amazing feeling in the world, or it can really hurt, but in the end love is something most, if not all of us, will face. While there are many different ways to define love and there are many different ways to love someone (even yourself), here is a general guide to loving. Love is the continual act of unconditionally putting the needs of others before your own.

Steps

1. Say it. When you say the words “I Love You,” do they carry it with them the desire to show someone you love them or do they carry it with them is it what you want to feel? And when you say it make sure you really mean it and are willing to do anything for that special person.
2. Empathize. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Rather than impose your own expectations or attempt to control them, try to understand how they feel, where they come from, and who they are; and realize how they could also love you back just as well.
3. Love unconditionally. If you cannot love another person without attaching stipulations, then it is not love at all, but deep-seated opportunism (one who makes the most of an advantage, often unmindful of others). If your interest is not in the other person as such, but rather in how that person can enhance your experience of life, then it is not unconditional. If you have no intention of improving that person’s life, or allowing that person to be themselves and accepting them as they are, and not who you want them to be, then you are not striving to love them unconditionally.
4. Expect nothing in return. That doesn’t mean you should allow someone to mistreat or undervalue you. It means that giving love does not guarantee receiving love. Try loving just for loving’s sake. Realize that someone may have a different way of showing his or her love for you; do not expect to be loved back in exactly the same way.
5. Realize it can be lost. If you realize that you can lose the one you love, then you have a greater appreciation of what you have. Think how lucky you are to have someone to love.

Tips

• It does not make you a bad person to desire someone else’s love, even if they do not love you. However, to truly love someone, you must let them be free. It is selfish to blame them for your feelings.
• There are many types of love, for example: a mother-son love is different from a best friend’s love, which is different from a romantic love. Don’t be ashamed to tell anyone that you love your friends as much as you love anyone else in your life.
• You have to find someone that will suit you, someone you feel comfortable with – not just someone to make love to.
• As a word, love can be found worldwide and is often used to describe compassion and/or emotional attachment. Accepting those you love for who they are is part of love. You also need to learn to accept yourself before you can accept another. If you cannot love your self, how are you to love another?
• Love genuinely. Do not compare your feelings now to what your feelings were when you were with another mate. At times, we can experience rejection.
• Realize that love is a feeling that wikihow can describe and attempt to assist, but ultimately, you are the one who must take action in order to discover love.
• Do things that make the other person feel good, but do not smother them with gifts and attention.
• Consider some tips about what people in love do.
  • People in love are sensitive to each other’s needs, and endeavor to meet them even when they do not feel like doing it.
  • Men and women may be equal in value but different by nature. People who truly are in love give their mates “space” to develop their potential and find their fulfillment in life.
  • Love does not brag. People who are truly in love refrain from rehearsing their good traits just to show off. Bragging in a relationship often is really defensiveness.
  • People who are truly in love do not insist that their way is best and demand that their mates give in to them.
  • People who are truly in love are considerate of each others feelings and courteous in their actions toward one another. Sadly sarcasm is a way of life for some couples. They ridicule each other, belittle each other and trade jibes with a fury. They may say it is all in fun, but it leaves wounds that will someday become festering sores.
  • People who are truly in love look out for their mates’ best interests as much as their own. Those in love should be concerned not only about their own individual interests, but about the interests of the other as well.
  • People who truly love control their anger when the other displeases them. We are all human, and all humans feel anger periodically, but we only express our anger in destructive ways when we counting on someone else to meet our needs.
  • People who truly love each other do not take pleasure in their mates’ disappointments or failures.
  • People who truly love each other treat their mates with absolute trust. Some husbands and wives torment themselves with groundless suspicions. If you look for trouble you will find it every time.
  • People who truly love look forward to their relationship growing more meaningful and precious. They have hope. Which is an attitude that happily anticipates the good. It isn’t being blind and denies there are problems, but it does look beyond the problems. People who truly love each other do not allow their problems to rob them of their happiness.

Warnings

• You must love yourself before you can love another.
• There is always the risk of getting hurt, but that’s part of letting yourself fully love and trust some one. Being hurt could be long-lasting and could hurt more than anything in the world.
• Realize what you have while you have it, and care for the person you trust.
• If something comes to an end, try to let go rather than holding on; it’s for the best.
• The idea of love is fueled by childhood fantasies. The love shown in movies, as obtainable as it may be, is rare to say the least.
• You just may find your soul-mate sooner than you want to.
• If you feel any doubt of love your partner has for you, it is probably true. when you give and receive love 100%, you will have no doubt in your heart.
• Don’t ask for love – you should receive love because your partner wants to give you love – not because you want it from your partner.
• Do not force love – it will come in good time, it will come.

Related wikiHows

• How to Define Love
• How to Know the Difference Between Love, Infatuation and Lust
• How to Tame a Free Spirit
• How to Show Your Wife or Husband That You Truly Love Them
• How to Get a Man to Marry You
• How to Write a Love Letter
• How to Explicate a Poem
• How to Write a Love Poem
• How to Become Inspired to Write Poetry

Sources and Citations

• Love on Wikipedia

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Love. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Define Love

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

“How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?” — Albert Einstein
Love is difficult to define. How do you avoid confusing it with infatuation or lust? Philosophers and psychologists both have attempted to define love, or at least its difference from infatuation and lust. If you are looking to find love, the following observations may be helpful.

Steps

1. The dictionary defines love in the ways we use the word. For example love is:
   • A strong positive emotion of. affection or pleasure. e.g. “His love for his work.” or “I love cooking.”
   • Any object of warm affection or devotion or liking; “the theater was her first love”. I love French food.
   • Beloved: a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
   • A deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction. e.g. “She was his first love” or “She loves her husband.”
   • A score of zero in tennis or squash; “It was 40 love!”
   • Sexual love: sexual intercourse between two people. e.g. “They made love.” “He hadn’t had any love in months”;

2. Love is characterized by the desire to do anything for that person no matter what. And you’re willing to work out your problems together. And you just can’t hardly breathe when you’re around them and even though you may see them all the time or hardly ever it’s as if you get that rush of what you felt when you got your first kiss #The Greeks defined love in four categories:
   • AGAPE love is unconditional love. It is love by “CHOICE”. A good example is “GOD LOVES US”
   • PHI LEO love is the love of “ATTRACTION” guided by our likes or our healthy or unhealthy needs and desires.
   • STORGE is a physical show of “AFFECTION” the need for physical touch.
   • EROS is the physical “SEXUAL” desire, intercourse.

3. Define love, what does it mean to you? Be bold and write down the feelings and thoughts you have about love.
4. Be aware of moments you feel love towards anyone or anything.
5. Consider your motives, what are you getting from the situation.
6. Think about whether you’d feel the same way if the other person’s looks were to change.
7. Capture that feeling with metaphors, poetry or songs.
8. Define love like a psychologist: love can be viewed triangularly. There are three key components: passion, intimacy, and commitment.
   • Passion underlies physical desire, sexual behavior, and arousal. This is the physical side.
   • Intimacy is the emotional aspect: closeness, connectedness, and warmth of friendship.
   • Commitment is the decision-making part “CHOICE” of love; are couples willing to work it out?

9. Understand that love may start as harmless flirting and smiles and winks and maybe even kissing, but it is usually infatuation at this point, a more curious approach by one or both parties. While time is usually spent looking to discover more about this intriguing person, much time will be spent pondering the many possibilities of what could happen, or the consequences that may become of a certain action, or on the other hand the good that may come of it.
10. Understand that most often to the person in love there will be little left of interest in the real world, food will taste bland, concentrating will have become a serious mental struggle and even fun pastimes may seem worthless, as pacing and walking or even simply sitting or lying while thinking about the person seems a more sensible thing to do.
    • This type of behavior can lead to serious disturbances at work and at home, especially if the person feeling love is already an item with somebody else with whom they may have shared these feelings at some time in the past.

11. Note that although love has never been scientifically proven to exist, it is thought; quite accurately as of yet that one can only be in love with one person or thing at a time. The part of the human being that is reserved for sharing with another (which some may call the soul, or the heart) is used up while dedicating itself to that one source, and that it is impossible to feel the overwhelming feeling twice at once.
    • Although similar, love is thought not to be like pain which has definite locations; it is thought that it can move around, although usually it will reside in the lower stomach or the bottom of the throat, with sensitive areas like the temples and the legs and joints feeling stressed and weak. The mouth is often dry and the eyes seem strained, and this is all usually given the diagnosis of love sickness; or in some cases where love isn’t present; influenza.

12. Understand that time does seem to be the only healer in the case of love. The full connection of two loving parties (mutually) could lead to a stronger relationship, and developments such as procreation and marriage; but in the case of a single party or the rejection of the first party by the second, or even in the case of a secret love, being in love will usually only fade after the interest is out of sight and out of mind, or gives full closure to the pursuer.
13. Realize that in some cases (especially in literature) love will last forever. No matter how much time passes by, or what obstacles become present in the path to true and pure love, love will endure. This may be far fetched from reality, but many find it to be a preferable way to think.
    • Although this may be a much more joyous belief to have of love, there are also those situations where love does fail. This can be easily said to have been due to false love of mistaken identity between persons (as lovers are star crossed and are meant to find each other). Either way, the difference between feeling love and not feeling it is a distinct one, and cannot be mistaken. It is a true sickness that is present and can be more crippling than the flu, depression and many other illnesses combined.
    • Love can cause war; in the cases of love of religion and the love of money; war can cause people to steal and murder, it can lead to suicide and shatter marriage and family life, it can spread disease and give birth to evil; but love is eternal and cannot be eliminated, it is what makes people human. “I think therefore I am” may also be translated as “I love therefore I am”. Being able to think give us the ability to choose our partners not because of their breed or simple survival of the fittest, but in order for us to develop as human beings, and to share our love and spread it on to new generations, so that while love lasts eternally, our mark upon humanity lasts forever through our children and children’s children; we have made our mark upon humanity; our genetic code will continue to be passed on and develop for ever more. This possibility is a gift, not a dedication, we have to choose as we were born with conscientiousness, not animal instinct.
    • Desire is the want of more and is unfillable, not to be confused with Love which is joy and contentment.

Tips

• There are many combinations, all of which form some kind of love. Is there passion and friendship but very little commitment? This is defined as “passionate love.” Are you committed but feel no passion or friendship? This is called “empty love.” What most people ultimately desire, is “TRUE LOVE” the total package: passion, intimacy, friendship and commitment in one healthy relationship. It’s the most fulfilling love. It is unconditional, and in my opinion the only “CHOICE”.
• For inspiration, read Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous poem, “How Do I Love Thee?”
• For additional inspiration, you might want to consider this Shakespeare quotation: “Love is not love/Which alters when it alteration finds” (Sonnet 116)

Warnings

• Just because you feel love doesn’t mean the other person does!
• People are capable of falling in and out of love so if your “true love” turns out to be abusive or makes you cry more than smile, end it and find a healthy person to love.
• Remember there are levels of love, and true love is a “CHOICE” and just because someone says they love you doesn’t mean they love you. Their actions will tell.
• Love is not a feeling. couples who have been married for a considerable amount of time, at least 10 years, can tell you that true love is not a feeling. Feelings tend to come and go; true love shouldn’t.
• Love can take over your whole life if you are not careful. Let it not take you over, but become a part of who you are. When you think about the person you love it should make you want to be a better person, for them.

Related wikiHows

• How to Love
• How to Know the Difference Between Love, Infatuation and Lust
• How to Express Your Feelings to the One You Love
• How to Make a Romantic Scrapbook
• How to Maintain Romance
• How to Get a Real Good Man
• How to Be a Poet
• How to Find Your Soulmate
• How to Get a Man to Marry You
• How to Explicate a Poem

Sources and Citations

• Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee?”
• The Love Chapter

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Define Love. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Poem of the day-17: "A Book" by Emily Dickinson

There is no frigate like book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears the human soul !

Wikipedia article on “EMILY DICKINSON”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Dickenson

“The Poems of Emily Dickinson” (Free eBook) from Asiaing.com. :
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/dickinson/Dickinson-poems6x9.pdf

Grateful thanks to Asiaing.com and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

How to Create a Positive Classroom Atmosphere

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

A positive atmosphere can make a classroom a more pleasant place to be and, in turn, a more effective, motivating place to learn. It’s simple to do, and it can have positive results on the achievement of students.

Steps

1. Change the way you act, talk, teach, communicate with your students. From today, communicate positively with every single one of them in a way that tells them that you have total confidence in them and their abilities(even though you might not have). Your body language and tone of voice makes up the majority your overall communication, so include it in your changes.
2. Encourage the students with positive feedback whenever possible. Praise for successes is a far stronger motivation than criticism.
3. Cover the walls of your classroom with positive messages: posters with motivational pictures and words; inspirational quotations from great people; positive paintings, drawings, prose, poems, done by your students.
4. Create stereograms that have hidden positive words. For an example go to http://www.school-teacher-student-motivation-resources-courses.com/teaching methods and check out subliminal communication.
5. Embed more positive words in everything that you write and talk about.
6. Create a positive word for the day and start a discussion on it. Apply it to positive case studies, role models. For example – ‘Winning’ – Lance Armstrong won against cancer, won Tour de France Race 7 times, and won the hearts and minds of charities and young people with his coloured rubber wrist bands.
7. Create a class dictionary of positive words. Start with an A – Z template and get your students to add positive words to the template. Make it big and put it on the wall.
8. Use bright, warm colors in decorations. Most classrooms begin with standard-issue furnishings, all the same. Well-placed wall decorations can make a classroom more homey and occasionally even impart knowledge to those whose attention has drifted off.
9. Make wall displays educational.

Tips

• Give corrections in a positive tone. Say things like “Try again” or “Do you have another idea?” instead of “no”. Prompt the student if he/she is on the right track: “And what is it called when that happens?”

Warnings

• Don’t play favorites. If necessary, create a deck of index cards with each student’s name to ensure that students get called upon an equal amount of the time. Mix them up, periodically.

Related wikiHows

• How to Improve Your Grades Without Studying
• How to Get out of a Fight Unharmed
• How to Make a Great Student Council Campaign
• How to Gain Recognition for Your Talents in School

Sources and Citations

• http://www.school-teacher-student-motivation-resources-courses.com/teachingmethods/subliminalcommunication.html

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Create a Positive Classroom Atmosphere. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Write an Analytical Essay

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Writing an essay is all about organizing your thoughts. Here’s how to put together your ideas into a coherent analytical essay. An analytical essay is an essay that compares main ideas between 2 topics.

Steps

1. Draw a square and put your introduction in it. (the introduction should grab your reader’s attention)
2. Start to plot out what you want to write. Do this underneath your introduction.
3. Come up with a main idea for each paragraph. Explain your main idea, maybe throw in a quote that will help to explain it in better detail.
4. Back up your ideas with examples. If you’re writing a Descriptive consider a personal example. Otherwise, find an objective example to support your analysis.
5. Follow these procedures for each paragraph that you need to write.
6. State your conclusion. Restate your introduction and leave the readers thinking.Make your conclusion something very brief that anyone could read, try writing as if you were talking to a toddler, a very affective way of getting your point across.

Tips

• Beginnings and endings are great places to use quotes, to use made up metaphors, and to use repetition, for effect.
• If you are writing a formal analysis or critique, then avoid using colloquial writing. Though informal language may bring some color to a paper, you do not want to risk weakening your argument by influencing it with verbal slang.
• When writing this type of essay you do NOT need to quote anything, pretend as if they were your own words, (if doing MLA, APA, or Turbain) These types of essays Do not require quotes and will be marked down accordingly if they are added.
• Ask yourself “What am I trying to prove?” the answer should be in your thesis, if not go back and fix it.

Warnings

• Avoid making your essay too tacky by using too little quotes. Remember that you want to incorporate others ideas, too.(without quotations if possible)
• Don’t try to add useless sentences to make an analytical essay longer; it is better to leave it short and to the point. Make each sentence count.

Things You’ll Need

• paper
• pen
• spell checker
• thesaurus

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write an Analytical Essay. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Increase Your Powers of Concentration

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Do you find it difficult to memorize long theoretical questions? Try the following steps to improve your concentration skills!

Steps

1. Complete only when in a quiet environment.
2. Drink a glass of room temperature water.
3. Now draw a small, yet visible, dot on the wall facing you, and start staring and concentrating on the dot for 60-70 seconds.
4. Start taking deep breaths while staring and for a short time after you have finished staring at the dot..
5. You should now find an increase in your concentration power.

Tips

• Do the exercise just before you sit to study.
• Do not make a large dot (unless you have applied asian paints).
• Increase the exercise duration from time to time.

Things You’ll Need

• A Glass Of Room Temperature Water
• A Pencil
• A Quiet Room To Complete Steps

Related wikiHows

• How to Memorize Anything
• How to Memorize
• How to Keep Concentration on the Things That Matter
• How to Avoid Thoughts Hampering Your Daily Activities

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Increase Your Powers of Concentration. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Read Shakespeare for Beginners

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Reading Shakespeare can initially be a confusing and frustrating experience, especially since most of us find little emotional connection with poetry written 400 years ago. But with a little common sense and a few general guidelines, you’ll be equipped to expertly communicate the political backdrops and emotional motivations of “Hamlet” in no time. With the right tools, the process can be incredibly rewarding and you can always pride yourself in the knowledge that you now possess an understanding of some of the most successful theatrical sensations to have ever been written. You can even impress your dates by dropping in a few appropriate quotations here and there.

Steps

1. Decide on a play. It is generally helpful to choose a play that is highly popular. Reading “King Lear,” for instance, can give you greater motivation to understand the text than reading “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” It is also helpful to choose a play with themes in which you are interested. Does a tale of “star-crossed lovers” appeal to you? Then “Romeo and Juliet” is right up your alley. Remember that understanding Shakespeare can be a tiring experience for the novice and can easily discourage readers. Most editions will have a brief synopsis printed on the back cover. If the play sounds intriguing, it might make for a good selection.
2. Choose a good edition. There are several to choose from. The textual differences are generally minute, but they will differ drastically in their explanation of the text. The Arden is highly regarded as being the most detail oriented edition and providing the most historical information pertaining to the play. The New Folger Library edition, if it is available is a nice choice, as are the Spark notes treatments.. Each page of text provides simple notes and explanations on the opposite side to give you a more accessible understanding of the language.
3. Find a synopsis. This might sound like cheating, but is highly valuable to understanding the play. If you possess the New Folger Library edition, a synopsis is provided before each scene. They are written to provide just enough information. Read it. You will then be able to match each character’s lines with your understanding of the plot. In addition, because you are not burdened with the effort of “figuring it out,” you will be more receptive to the nuances of language and character. Remember, it is difficult to appreciate anything when you have a puzzled look on your face.
4. Read the play out loud. Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be performed. Do not fall into the trap of intellectualizing the material before you’ve had a chance to experience it. The reason Shakespeare’s works have survived for as long as they have and with such popularity is because we, as an audience, have understood the connection with the human experience. Read aloud. Have fun and act it out if you can. Make it a living experience. You will then reach an understanding that is far greater than what any scholar can say about the subject. You will also have more fun.
5. Attend the play. Or watch the movie. After you’ve finished reading it, of course! It can be a real treat to see a performance of the piece once you’ve already imagined it in your head. How does the performance compare with your perceptions of the play? Was there something the actor provided that you did not consider? Was there something you would have done differently? Generally speaking, having read the play makes you a much better audience member as you are not struggling to understand the words. If you have finished reading one of Shakespeare’s more popular plays as prescribed above, there is a very good chance it is currently in live production or has been produced into a film, often several times.

Tips

• Many of the Bard’s plays are now available for listening on CD, audio tape or iPod download. Listening to these may help you become familiarized with the language and make it easier for you to do the reading.
• A basic rundown of some of Shakespeare’s more popular plays:
  • Romeo and Juliet Romance Tragedy. A tale of star-crossed lovers. One of the simpler plays due to its straight plot structure, highly recommended for the beginner, but if romance isn’t your thing, you may want to put it off until later. Highlight: Mercutio’s death speech alone is well worth the cost of admission.
  • Twelfth Night Romantic Comedy. A woman cross-dresses in order to fit into a male-dominated career (which was, well, all of them, at Shakespeare’s time) and falls in love, causing confusion and hijinks to occur.
  • Taming of the Shrew Romantic Comedy. A rather temperamental woman is “domesticated” by the man who becomes her husband. Warning: May insult modern sensibilities.
  • Richard III Historical. Full of murder, insanity and a strive for power. A bit more advanced but well worth the effort since so much is going on. Highlight: The conversation between the pair of assassins who go after Richard III’s brother (who is in jail at the time).
  • The Tempest Fantasy. A Shakespearian equivalent to “Lost” or “Survivor” with a bit of wizardry tossed in for fun.
  • A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream Fantasy. Fauns, and pixies and magical creatures galore.
  • Macbeth Tragedy. A Scottish warrior meets a trio of witches who prophesize that he will become king. He tells his wife, who urges him on in his quest to become king. He quickly becomes obsessed, and blood shed and betrayal ensues.

Warnings

• “Shakespeare Made Easy.” Is a book in which Shakespeare’s plays have been translated into modern vernacular. Each page of text is paraphrased into easily understood sentences on the facing page. Although a nice idea to help make Shakespeare more accessible to the masses, this edition is not recommended. Most people who pick up this edition end up only reading the “modern” text and completely ignoring the original writing.

Related wikiHows

• How to Pick a Book to Read
• How to Write a Short Story
• How to Love Reading
• How to Read a Thick Newspaper in a Short Time
• How to Read a Picture Book
• How to Act Shakespeare

Sources and Citations

• Google Shakespeare

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Read Shakespeare for Beginners. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Write a Research Paper

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Writing a research paper can be a challenge. Not only do you have to come up with shockingly clever ideas, you also have to figure out what the so-called experts think, and learn to format your paper correctly. When you finish, you’ll be surprised at what you’ve learned. But, start early; it may take more time than you realize.

Steps

1. Decide on a topic. If it hasn’t been assigned to you, try to think of something original. Choosing something that actually interests you will make the process a lot less painful. Also, try to choose a topic on which you will be able to find outside information.
   • Narrow the topic. Instead of writing about “Music,” you could narrow that down to “Instruments,” or even, “The History of the Clarinet,” That will make the topic much easier to control!

2. Research. The whole object of a research paper is to research a topic. Utilize book and article databases at the library, reputable websites, encyclopedias and other reference books, peer-reviewed magazines, etc. Find as much as possible written about your topic and either bookmark it, or make a copy of it; you will need it later, and it’s much easier to look through your copies, than to try to find that particular source again.
3. Read through your materials. Depending on how much information you actually have, you may not want to read everything. Try skimming through it to get the gists of each article, then go back and read the most useful parts in depth. Put a bookmark on all the important pages and write down any quotes you want to use in your paper. Highlight important passages and other useful, and usable, information.
4. Write your thesis statement. This is one of the most important parts of the essay-writing process. Your thesis statement is usually one sentence that states your main point, or subject. Make sure that it accurately represents what you are trying to say. Remember that you have to be able to prove, using your research, anything you say.
5. Write your paper. Every paragraph should work towards proving your thesis statement. Now is the time to use that information you spent so much time researching. Use quotations to reinforce your evidence and support your thesis. Always be sure to cite your sources.
6. Format and proofread your essay. Read your paper over for grammar, spelling, and syntax errors. Make sure you transition from thought to thought and paragraph to paragraph in a fluent fashion. You should never jump from one idea to another without some sort of transition. Check with your teacher to find out what format your paper should be in (double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman, for example) and what format your citations should be in (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.). Consult a guide to learn the specifics of that format. Be sure that you have all required elements including a works cited page, bibliography, or footnotes. Before turning it in, check the paper over at least three times.

Tips

• Stick to the topic of your paper, chances are you get more points for creativity.
• Remember that your research paper should be based on a number of reliable materials which will support your argument.
• Reading your paper out loud or having a friend check it can help you find easy to miss mistakes.
• Also start at the end of your research paper and read the sentences in reverse order so that your eyes can catch mistakes. You may read it so many times that your eyes got to familiar with the words so reading it in reverse sentence order will help you catch mistakes.
• Proofread your research paper in order to get rid of punctual and grammar mistakes.
• Wikipedia can be a great source of information, but you have to be careful. Make sure that what you are reading makes sense; occasionally, as with any wiki, pages can be vandalized. Because of this, many teachers frown upon its use. Check with your professor before using wikipedia as a source.

Warnings

• Watch out for poor quality references. Most teachers frown upon quotes from thrown-together personal websites (complete with corny music and mouse trailers) used as scholarly references.
• Don’t plagiarize work done by other people unless you have their permission or site where you got the information. You could be sued by the author or get a fine.

Related wikiHows

• How to Write a Comparative Essay
• How to Establish a Research Topic
• How to Do Your Homework
• How to Write a Letter
• How to Write an APA Style Bibliography
• How to Research Using Tafiti

Sources and Citations

• Use a citation machine to generate a well formatted bibliography. The following links provide free APA and MLA format citation machines:
  • See Landmark’s Citation Machine – Creates citations for almost any source.
  • research paper writing – Gives information on research paper writing.
  • StudentABC’s Citation Machine – Automatically retrieves data from websites to cite websites.

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Research Paper. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Einstein on Fairy Tales

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales – Albert Einstein

Nature sets the Example by Swami Budhananda

This may easily escape our notice but the fact remains that to provide for the food – the cereals, green vegetables and fruits, milk – that we eat and drink, for sustaining and nourishing our bodies, the whole cosmic process is at work. We seldom think that the mango or the apple that we eat and admire as delicious, in its growth and ripening process, there is so much work done by the good earth and the sun in the sky. But neither the sun nor the earth clamour for recognition of their service to man. Quietly they have been working on for time out of mind. The whole universe, factually speaking, stands at the back of every individual to make his life in this world possible. Have we or have we not anything to learn from the cosmic process? If we stop a little to think, we shall find that there is a profound lesson for every one of us to learn.

Take India, for instance. Here we have a vast land guarded in the north by the eternal snow-peaks of the Himalayas; the feet of the country are washed by three oceans. There are vast forests, mighty rivers, fertile soil, rich natural resources, an ancient people whose ancestry and civilization are counted in millenniums. And yet we are a new nation governed by a modern constitution guaranteeing basic human rights. We are now more than one billion strong. But it would appear that all these that could be counted as endowments and sources of pride, solace and strength, and a feeling of a self-assurance, often enough turn out to be so many problems to be faced. True, these one billion people can turn out to be many times more problems when we do not know how to put these endowments to good account. So, we must learn how not to make problems of our assets.

The first point to remember is the glory of man. That was one thing that Swami Vivekananda, time and again, taught us: ‘Never forget the glory of man’, and this ‘man’ is ‘you’ and also all your ‘neighbours’. When we live all for ourselves, think too much of ourselves, and think that the whole universe is accountable to us and we are not accountable to the universe, we are at the wrong end.

Therefore, two things must go hand in hand. They are:

(1) Awareness of the great potential of every human being; and that

(2) We have to grow towards attainment of self-fulfillment, not by each of us singly, but together.

We must also believe that all these one billion people can be looked after well. Our sorrows and sufferings can be minimized and there can be ever so much more happiness for all, of all, if only we own all of us as our own.

The important point to remember is that to help manifest everyone’s great potential is the business of every advanced civilization. Our ancient teachers taught us to set in motion within oneself a self-chastening process to go together with a keen ‘other-regarding’ process. In other words, self-development and the development of everybody else should go on simultaneously. It is not enough if we have a vast land, rich natural resources, mighty rivers, highly talented people and other endowments. What is important is to learn the art and science of turning all these things to good account, in the service of man. To learn to do this and to teach to do this are the business of enlightened citizenship which is of supreme importance for every nation in this world, particularly, India. As the Buddha says, that which is most needed is a loving heart.

Courtesy: Enlightened Citizenship, Published by Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi

Grateful thanks to the Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi

If you want your children to be intelligent….

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales – Albert Einstein

Einstein on Fairy Tales

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales – Albert Einstein

Poem of the day-16: "My Song" by Tagore

This song of mine will wind its music around you,
my child, like the fond arms of love.

The song of mine will touch your forehead
like a kiss of blessing.

When you are alone it will sit by your side and
whisper in your ear, when you are in the crowd
it will fence you about with aloofness.

My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams,
it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.

It will be like the faithful star overhead
when dark night is over your road.

My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes,
and will carry your sight into the heart of things.

And when my voice is silenced in death,
my song will speak in your living heart.

Wikipedia article on “RABINDRANATH TAGORE”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Poem of the day-16: "My Song" by Tagore

This song of mine will wind its music around you,
my child, like the fond arms of love.

The song of mine will touch your forehead
like a kiss of blessing.

When you are alone it will sit by your side and
whisper in your ear, when you are in the crowd
it will fence you about with aloofness.

My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams,
it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.

It will be like the faithful star overhead
when dark night is over your road.

My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes,
and will carry your sight into the heart of things.

And when my voice is silenced in death,
my song will speak in your living heart.

Wikipedia article on “RABINDRANATH TAGORE”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

How To-17: "How to Increase Your Energy Level"

How to Increase Your Energy Level

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Learn how to increase your energy and be more productive. This is especially important if you’re a player who’s involved in a sport.
Having the right psychology is crucial but being in a great physical shape is equally important. People who have more energy are more productive in every way. This is especially important for someone who is trying to get better in whatever sport he is participating. Desire to achieve something. Think about it. You will feel better when you finish something you enjoy doing. It’s not even a task for you. It’s just something you love doing. Find something that excites you and drives you. It’s all perception. Find the job you love doing and you’ll never work ever again. This factor tends to get into the psychological part of what drives us as human beings. The point is to have a goal that we want to achieve. We will find the energy to make it happen.
Drink a lot of water. I’m sure you’ve heard it many times but the right amount of water in our body is everything. You will hear this in every self help program. Water equals energy. I’m not going to say you shouldn’t drink tap water or advise you to buy a special water bottle. That’s all part of marketing in self help programs. Just make sure you drink 8 to 9 cups per day and you will feel better. If you’re exercising, don’t let your body dehydrate. There is approximately 80% water in our blood. When we consume more than usual, we improve our blood flow.
Be curious and commit to constant and never ending improvement. Another factor is this: if we feel like we know everything and we’ve done it all and we’re satisfied with “status quo”, we’ll have less energy. It’s just a fact. People who are dreamers, who tend to improve all the time, have more energy.
Don’t eat big meals. Instead, eat several small meals (4/5/6) per day to get the metabolism going and you will feel better. There are thousands of graphs and statistics who claim that it’s ten times better if we divide the food we consume into smaller portions.

Related wikiHows

• How to Get an Idea of How Long You Will Live
• How to Keep up Your Energy Level for the Whole Day
• How to Do Really Good Pushups
• How to Improve Your Memory

Sources and Citations

• http://www.best-basketball-tips.com – Original source of this article

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Increase Your Energy Level. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-16: "How to Exercise Your Brain"

How to Exercise Your Brain

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Scientists believe that exercising your brain can create a ‘cognitive reserve’ that will help you stay sharp as you age.

Steps

1. Take a class to learn something you have always wanted to know about. Learn to play bridge, or study Spanish, or take a seminar in photoshop.
2. Do games and puzzles such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles. You can also play word games like Scrabble.
3. Read often and read a lot of different types of books. Take a magazine and dedicate a certain amount of time to reading it each day or each week. Read the newspaper. Set your computer homepage to bring up news items of particular interest to you. And then read them each time you open the computer.
4. Remember and repeat groups of words. Try memorizing your grocery list.
5. Play computer brain games, such as Brain Age for Nintendo DS.
6. Test and monitor your memory and attention with special computer games.
7. Write or edit a wikiHow article every now and then.
8. Meditate often. Take calm, deep breaths. Your brain needs a lot of fresh air.
9. Eat foods containing omega fatty acids such as flax seeds, hemp seeds and fish. Omega fatty acids have been known to boost intellectual stamina.
10. Perform math functions regularly.
11. Learn new words from a word a day calendar or from a dictionary.
12. Use your left hand if you are right handed, and reverse. You will be exercising the opposite side of the brain.
13. Mess around with a twisty puzzle.
14. Learn to read and play music (classical music is known to have the best effects.)
15. Use the Mozart Effect – classical music increases brain activity more positively than other kinds of music. Two pieces of Mozart’s music; Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major (K. 448) and Piano Concerto No. 23 (K. 488), were found to have this effect.
16. Draw or paint.

Tips

• Remember to exercise your body – a healthier mind results from a healthy body. Get plenty of physical exercise.
• There are plenty of programs out there that will help with your memory. “Brain Age” or “Big Brain Academy” for the Nintendo DS are recommended and fun. These games were specifically made for improving your memory.

Related wikiHows

• How to Finish Jigsaw Puzzles Faster
• How to Solve a Fifteen Puzzle
• How to Solve the Wonderword Puzzle
• How to Finish a Crossword Puzzle

Sources and Citations

• alz.org on Alzheimer’s Disease
• Here is a free cognitive test with no strings

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Exercise Your Brain. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-15: "How to Be More Aware of Your Health"

How to Be More Aware of Your Health

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

You have a mind of your own. Doctors can’t know everything. Perhaps some people trust doctors a little too much. They expect miracles and then blame the doctors when things turn out to be less than what they imagined. That’s not fair to you or the doctor.
So here are a few simple things to keep in mind when you are dealing with medical issues

Steps

1. Listen to your body. It’s always sending you signals. If it doesn’t “feel right” then it’s time to re-evaluate your options.
2. Get a third and fourth opinion on major a major diagnosis. For example, your doctor tells you that you have cancer. Confirm with another physician.
3. Research your medical situation. The internet is packed with information. Go to discussion groups about your medical issue. Go to websites. Print out journals. Dig Deep. Why be in the dark about what’s happening with your body? This is your life!
4. Ask your doctor questions. This is why you pay the doctor. If he or she is worth anything, he or she will be happy to answer your questions and give you ways to find out more information. Some doctors use a sliding-scale fee system. They will charge more if you ask more questions. Find out the cost before your consultation.
5. If your doctor gets offended or displays a overly-negative reaction towards your questions, find another doctor. You need a doctor in whom you can place your confidence.

Tips

• Do regular relaxation exercises. This is simply closing your eyes in a comfortable position and breathing deeply while clearing your mind of any thoughts. This does not have to take long, five minutes can be sufficient.

Warnings

• While researching your symptoms and conditions on the Internet, be careful that you are recieving accurate information. Many doctors and hospitals have patient information sites to help you get accurate information; use them!
• When looking at your own medical imaging test results, be aware of the specific language that radiologists use. For example, “metastatic cancer cannot be excluded” does NOT mean you have cancer – it means they can’t prove you DON’T have cancer without other tests, which your primary physician already may have already done and is just waiting for tests results to confirm his/her thoughts.
• If you want the drug you saw on in an advertisement, or have diagnosed yourself and just want it confirmed, be honest about it when you see your physician. They may not agree with you, but you won’t be wasting thier time or yours.

Related wikiHows

• How to Stay Healthy
• How to Eat Healthy for Life
• How to Lose Weight the Healthy Way
• How to Get Old Without Feeling Old
• How to Remain Young Despite Becoming a Senior

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Be More Aware of Your Health. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-14: "How to Make a Home Remedy for a Kidney Infection"

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

AFTER you have been accurately diagnosed and treated by a licensed health care practitioner, there are a number of things you can do to keep your urinary tract healthy and free of infection.

Steps

1. An untreated kidney infection can be very serious! It is important to have your urine tested to see if an infection is the problem or if something else is going on. There are infections which simply cannot be treated with home remedies. An antibiotic may be necessary.
2. Drink lots of water. Cranberry juice has been touted as useful for urinary tract problems, but in some cases it can be an irritant instead of a help. Water is best. Three to four quarts a day is how much you should aim for.
3. Take vitamin C daily. The dose is variable. Some people can only tolerate 500mg a day, others take 4 to 5 grams without problem; check with your doctor first but a good dose is around a gram a day. This helps keep urine acid and prevent growth of organisms.
4. Avoid taking bubblebaths. The sudsy water helps break down the protective mucus at the opening of your urethra and allows germs to get in.
5. For females: after intercourse, get up and urinate as soon as you reasonably can. Urinating rinses away any germs which may have gotten to the urethra.
6. Avoid thongs. They provide a moist trail right from your anus to the urethra and those E. coli travel right to it.
7. Do wear cotton underpants or at least cotton crotch panties. Cotton allows moisture to evaporate and prevents having a perfect environment for growth of organisms.
8. After using the toilet, be sure to wipe from front to back so as not to drag germs from the anal area to your urethra.

Warnings

• Do NOT let a kidney or bladder problem go undiagnosed and untreated. You could end up with kidney failure, on dialysis or dead.
• Avoid synthetic underwear and tight pants

Related wikiHows

• How to Cope With Enlarged Prostate
• How to Cope With Kidney Stones
• How to Make a Home Remedy for a Kidney Infection
• How to Prevent Kidney and Liver Failure at a Young Age

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make a Home Remedy for a Kidney Infection. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-13: "How to Make Cold Healing Tea"

How to Make Cold Healing Tea

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Have a Cold? Cant Stop Coughing? Here is something that will help you feel better!

Ingredients

• Dry tea leaves
• Lemon
• Honey
• Sugar
• Boiled water
• cinnamon(optional)

Steps

1. Boil two cups of water
2. Cut a lemon in half. Then, cut two slices and put them into a tea pot.
3. Add four tea spoons of sugar into the tea pot.
4. Mush the lemon and sugar until the lemon lets out all of its juice.
5. Add one table spoon of honey.
6. Mix
7. Put half of a hand full of dry tea leaves into a tea pot.
8. Add one cup of boiled water.
9. Mix,close tea pot ( put on lid) and wait 5/10 min.
10. Remove lid and mix again.
11. Take a cup and pour the tea until half of the cup is full.
12. Add boiled water until the cup is full.
13. Drink tea.

Tips

• Drink hot for best results!
• Drink several times daily or when coughing begins.
• For best results use a colander when pouring tea into cup to keep the tea leaves from getting into the cup.

Warnings

• This is not a medicine! This tea will only give temporary relief and will not replace medicine!
• Be careful of hot tea.

Things You’ll Need

• Dry tea leaves
• Lemon
• Honey
• Sugar
• Boiled water
• cinnamon(optional)
• tea pot
• something to boil water in.
• colander
• spoon (to mix)

Related wikiHows

• How to Enjoy a Cup Of Japanese Green Tea
• How to Make a Good Cup of Tea
• How to Brew White Tea
• How to Make Kombucha Tea

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Cold Healing Tea. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.