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 Wide-awake walking
In 2003, Discover Magazine ran a feature article on neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita titled “Can You See With Your Tongue?”
The article detailed a unique experiment in which subjects are blindfolded and cut off from all sensory perceptions except for those of the tongue.
The theory, according to Bach-y-Rita, is that the senses are only data sources. The brain is responsible for processing the data.
"We don't see with our eyes," Bach-y-Rita said. “We see with our brains. Clearly, there are connections to certain parts of the brain, but you can modify that."
The author of the article experienced just that. Through the use of a small video and the transmission of its images through electric currents to a grid of electrodes on his tongue, he was able to catch a ball rolled to him—without being able to see, hear or smell it.
Ilchi Lee, originator of the Brain Education System Training (BEST) and author of Principles of Brain Management and the forthcoming In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide to Successful Aging, writes: “people today are prone to rely on only one sense, especially visual stimuli, at the expense of others.”
Like Bach-y-Rita, Lee states that the brain’s ability to continually develop and rewire itself, otherwise known as neuroplasticity, gives us the opportunity to change the way we use our senses. We just need to open ourselves to the full range of experiences that life has to offer.
From Ilchi Lee (Excerpted from Principles of Brain Management)
Walking is a fabulous exercise for many reasons. Regular walking reduces the occurrence of many common diseases and contributes to a general sense of well-being. These benefits are probably no surprise to you, but did you know that walking is also good for your brain?
Many areas of the brain work together to facilitate this commonplace, yet remarkable, activity. Just the act of walking in itself is like a great wake-up call for the brain. In fact, many famous artists, philosophers, writers and musicians, including Charles Dickens, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Thomas Jefferson included walking as part of their method of finding inspiration. It seems that the complex mechanism of walking touches on many parts of the brain and allows ideas to flow in new and exciting ways.
So use walking as a way to awaken your brain and find inspiration for your life as well. As you walk, make a point of engaging all of your senses fully. Most of us tend to rely primarily on the sense of sight, so make a point of using your ears, nose and skin as well. Take in all the layers of sound, smell the many fragrant odors of the day and feel every part of your body as you move through the air.
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