Michael J. Gelb - Brain Power: Improve Your Mind as You Age

MICHAEL J. GELB
and KELLY HOWELL

Foreword by Tony Buzan

Copyright 2012 by Michael J. Gelb and Kelly Howell

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

This book presents nutrition and exercise information that may or may not be right for you. In view of the complex, individual, and specific nature of health and fitness problems, this book is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Every individual is different. Before starting any diet, meditation, or exercise program, get your doctors approval. The brain wave training audio download that accompanies this book shouldnt be used by those with epilepsy or by anyone who has been diagnosed with a neuroelectrical malfunction, such as being prone to seizures. The publisher and the authors expressly disclaim any responsibility for any loss or risk incurred as a consequence of the application of the contents of this book.

Text design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gelb, Michael.

Brain power : improve your mind as you age / Michael J. Gelb and Kelly Howell ; foreword by Tony Buzan.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60868-073-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. CognitionAge factors. 2. MemoryAge factors. 3. BrainAging. 4. Human information processingAge factors. I. Howell, Kelly. II. Title.

BF724.55.C63G45 2012

155.6713dc23

2011038619

First printing, January 2012

ISBN 978-1-60868-073-3

Printed in the United States on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Also by Michael J. Gelb

Body Learning

Present Yourself!

Thinking for a Change

Samurai Chess

(with Grandmaster Raymond Keene)

How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook and Notebook

Discover Your Genius

Five Keys to High Performance

Da Vinci Decoded

Innovate Like Edison

(with Sarah Miller Caldicott)

Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking

Also by Kelly Howell (Audio)

Brain Massage

Deep Meditation

Deep Learning

Fulfill Your Hearts Desire

Guided Meditation

Healing Meditation

High Focus

Increase Creativity

Sound Healing

Sound Sleep

The Secret Universal Mind Meditation I and II

If you are mindful that old age has wisdom for its food
you will so exert yourself in youth
that your old age will not lack sustenance.

LEONARDO DA VINCI

BRAIN SYNC: IMPROVE YOUR MIND AS YOU AGE

Accompanying this book is a complimentary brain wave training audio program designed to optimize mental performance. Instructions for downloading the audio files are in chapter 8 (page 165). The audio program contains four tracks:

Track 1 provides a demonstration of how brain wave audio technology balances your brain.

Track 2 (Pure Coherence) refreshes your brain, clears mental fog, and focuses your mind like a laser beam. It also works as a natural antidepressant to boost your mood and energy levels. Youll feel alert and energized as your ability to think, concentrate, and store information is improved dramatically.

Track 3 (Deep Resonance) allows you to effortlessly reach depths of meditation that would otherwise take years of practice to attain. As you listen, muscles relax, fears vanish, and stress fades; negative thoughts are washed away by streams of creative insight.

Track 4 (Slow-Wave Sleep) encourages restful, regenerative sleep. With regular use of this track, youll establish healthier sleep patterns and feel more refreshed in the morning.

T he twenty-first century is the beginning of the Millennium of the Mind. In this new era, humanity will come to realize and apply the extraordinary power of the human brain. Over the past fifty years, Ive devoted my life to helping create a world in which every child is raised with full knowledge of his or her astounding potential and how to utilize it. Mental literacy is the term I coined to refer to a practical understanding of every individuals capacity for information processing, memory development, creative thinking, problem solving, and continuous learning. The king of literacies, it includes knowledge of the fundamentals of the physical structure and nature of the brain, and an understanding of the alphabet of the brains behavioral repertoire.

About twenty years ago, during dinner, Ted Hughes, the former poet laureate of Great Britain, and I were discussing the benefits for humanity that will be realized when we fully unleash the great natural resource of human intelligence. In a moment of inspiration, we raised our glasses in a new toast to planetary mental literacy: Floreant dendritae! (a hybrid of ancient Greek and Latin meaning May your brain cells flourish!).

Reading and applying the messages in Brain Power: Improve Your Mind as You Age will result in a remarkable flourishing of your one hundred billion brain cells. In this marvelous book, Michael J. Gelb and Kelly Howell make a profoundly valuable contribution to the field of mental literacy. Although there is considerable material on optimizing mental function as we age available on the Internet and in various publications, this book focuses in laser-like fashion on the most important, scientifically valid, and useful information on improving your mind as you age. It is immensely readable, easily accessible, and immediately applicable to every aspect of your life. Brain Power offers a practical program for increasing well-being now and for the rest of your life.

I know the value of the lessons in this book because I had the good fortune to have a mother who exemplified everything that Michael and Kelly recommend. My mom, Jean Buzan, was a tremendous inspiration to me and to just about everyone she ever met. Although she was a gifted student, Mom was forced at the age of sixteen, in 1932, to leave school. In those days, college wasnt an option for a girl from her background.