Reprogram your brain with positive stuff instead of endless loop of negativity.

When I was younger and didn't always have the best self image, it seemed like I just couldn't get the negative stuff out of my head. It seemed there was always a loop running that said I wasn't good enough, pretty enough or 'fill in the blanks.' Fortunately, with maturity that has all changed and I now have "good" stuff in my head, some of which are sage words that have been passed down through the  odes and sonnets of long dead poets.

 If we have a hard time making it through the day sometimes it might be wise to remember the words of Samuel Johnson, the 18th Century poet and essayist who, in speaking about the value of literature, said it helped him to 'enjoy and endure' his existence. Often we merely go through the motions to make it through another day. Poetry has the ability to lift our spirits and stay in our memory, replacing some of the negativity with images of beauty and tranquility.

When we learn a poem it helps to fill our head with nourishing thoughts and develops empathy, by demonstrating through the words of others, that we are not the only ones who have felt despair, futility, or humiliation.  Every generation has pondered and lamented the reasons we go to war or in deepest inner pain, pined for unrequited love. When we think that we are all alone in the world, remember that someone else has had the same exact thoughts. After all "no man is an island, entire of itself," as John Donne wrote many long years ago.

Growing your dendrites, it's easier than you think!

Do you harbor a secret desire to wow your friends with your Sushi making skills but just haven't had the nerve to sign up for that class yet? It may be that your dendrites are sending a message to you, saying that they need more stimulation. Doing things that are unfamiliar to us or intellectually challenging can help to develop the connections between neurons and in turn make them more resistant to disease. Whether it is learning to fix your car, do plumbing jobs around the house, or take a watercolor class, these can all go a long way towards improving one's brain health.

Anything that is out of your comfort zone will present a challenge to the brain. If you are a moderate cribbage player find someone who is really good to play against and encourage your brain circuitry to work harder. Learning shouldn't stop when you finish school. Continuing to learn new things ensures that your brain stays healthy and with stronger dendrites the connections will last a long time and you will remember what you learned. There are so many ways to stimulate the brain, not just the old puzzle or word games. Learn to sail, take a creative writing course, or find tap dancing classes. Join a club where interesting people meet to exchange ideas. The options are unlimited and you might just have some fun along the way.

Want to give your brain a boost?

New research has shown that reading the works of poets like Shakespeare and Wordsworth give a boost to the brain. Scientists monitored the brain activity of volunteers as they read the works of T.S. Eliot, Shakespeare, and Wordsworth. Then they "translated" the works of these poets into more modern language and again monitored the volunteer's brain activity as they read the words. Turns out that the more challenging poetry showed more electrical activity in the brain than the "dumbed" down versions.

When volunteers encountered unusual words or difficult sentence structures the brain was more "lit up."This caused a shift of the brain into a higher gear. Philip Davis, an English professor who worked on the study with researchers at Liverpool University had this to say about this work on how the brain is affected by what it reads, "Serious literature acts like a rocket-booster to the brain."

I'm not going to give up my summer romance novels just yet. But I believe that memorizing poetry will have just as much affect at lighting up the brain as reading the bards of old. Is not the line "Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines" a more pleasing way to describe a hot summer day than "man, am I sweating in this heat?" Or how about "And summer's lease hath all too short a date" than "I sure will be sorry to see summer go." Language is a beautiful thing and I am glad the works of our great poets have survived in this day of slang and texting. And as it turns is more beneficial to our brains!

A little more about poetry, after all it is summer!

My favorite season is summer. How can one not wax poetic about balmy nights or floating languidly on a winding river? I like that I do less laundry in the summer because I don't have to pile on all the layers that other seasons demand. Summer seems to me the perfect time to take a poem to heart. The days are longer and it is too hot to hurry about at a frenzied pace.

 By taking a poem to heart one makes a friend of the poem. To quote a few lines from the British poet Simon Armitage, "The poems we learn when we're young stay with us for the rest of our lives. They become embedded in our thinking, and when we bring them to mind, or to our lips, they remind us who we are as people, and the things we believe in. They become personal and invaluable, and what's more they are free gifts- there for the taking. We call it learning by heart, and I think such learning can only make our hearts bigger and stronger."

If you have a young friend why not share a poem and memorize it together. They will receive a gift that will last their lifetime and maybe even start a habit that they will carry forward and share with a future generation.