Remembered

"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility."

-James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)

Resolutions, or not?

I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. – Paul, Romans 7:18-20, The Message paraphrase

Do you sometimes feel like it's tough to do the things you want to do? How about new year resolutions? have you made any, or not? I’ve taken a pass on the resolution thing for the last many years. But this year I’m deciding to give gentle attention to establishing a few healthier habits while letting go of some unhealthy ones.

At a seminar I attended a couple months back - “How the Brain Forms New Habits: Why Willpower is Not Enough,” sponsored by Institute for Brain Potential and presented by Bill M. Kelly (PhD/Professor in the Dept of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth) - I gleaned a few ideas to apply for a more resolute life this year.

And in the chance that you too might want to form any new health habits, for this January’s 1^st Wednesday wellness email I pass along some suggestions. Being rather fascinated with this stuff I get long-winded: you’re invited to merely look for the section of interest and scan just that if this seems too long [as it may well be for many ;-)].

Understanding habits and your reward system

*Habits, both good and bad, are learned and maintained by rewards, and are activated by dopamine circuits associated with motivation and reward (reward is not necessarily pleasure, euphoria, or feel good; rather, it is something that increases the likelihood of repetition even though not always associated with positive affect). Reward takes you from an immediate state of good to great, ok to good, or from bad to ok or less bad; reward equals reinforcement.

*A habit can be a behavior, thought, or emotional response. Bad habits cause immediate benefit, but long-term harm with repetition; good habits cause immediate and long-term benefit.

*Correcting our conscious beliefs or expectations around value (of the habit or behavior) changes our dopamine neuron estimates (that is, the brain’s guess as to how desirable the behavior is, how much ‘reward’ it will bring, or what benefit will result; for example, being given a placebo “painkiller’ increased release of dopamine in persons anticipating a painful stimulus (Scott et al., 2007), dopamine neurons were activated because the expectation was for relief).

Eliminating unhealthful “bad” habits

*Be aware of overvaluing bad habits that have been linked to

-other rewards (like pretty faces, symbols of power, successes, or relief – advertisers know this!), or

-secondary gain: like social acceptance – fitting in by eating the junk food your ‘friends’ are eating; like having people feel bad for us and help us – getting a back massage when we hurt; like getting out of doing something we fear – being sick to avoid the math test; like getting attention for bad behavior – joking around in class; like escaping tedium – smoke breaks, chocolate/alcohol intake.

*Notice maladaptive associations: identify harmful habits, track the context of what triggers or precedes the habit, then avoid the triggers (such as, don’t go to drinking parties if alcoholic), create competing good habits off the same trigger (for example: take five deep breaths rather than smoking, when feeling anxious; get a cup of tea when feeling bored instead of eating a candy bar or cookie).

*Bring attention to when a habit isn’t working and initiate a new strategy (ex

ample: instead of responding defensively to negative input, take three deep breaths while determining to see the other person’s perspective).

*Link habits to values: explicitly identify and prioritize values and consider your habitual practices in the context of these values. Do your habits support or conflict with your values? When values and habits conflict, reminding yourself of the value and developing a plan to live by the value can help change habits (such as, if I value a healthy body, the practice of counting calories is a constant reminder that I have a long-term goal and that I value physical wellness).

Establishing healthy “good” habits

*Develop good habits by observation: we unconsciously mimic the behaviors, feelings, and thoughts of those around us; our brains have mirror neurons that fire as if we were doing what we are watching others do and those neurons map onto our motor systems. So hang out with people choosing desirable lifestyles.

*Develop good habits by imagery: practicing or running through a new behavior in our imagination can speed learning, as the brain goes through some of the same patterns for firing and activation when imaging as when actually doing. Some examples:

1. Real practice playing the piano reshaped representation of the fingers in the motor cortex; one week of imagining playing the piano for two hours a day caused the same motor cortex restructuring; This plastic human brain cortex article cites a Pascual-Leone 1996 study finding.

2. Two groups did a finger exercise for four weeks, one group did actual physical movement with the result of 30% stronger muscles at end, other group imagined the exercise with result of 22% stronger; for more see Guang Yue and Kelly Cole article abstract and the finding is mentioned here.

*Create new associations to encourage good habits (for example: spinach makes you strong, eating fruits and vegetables clear your skin or boost your immune system hearty, doing yoga impresses women or eases your back pain, prayer quiets your anxiety).

*Avoid merely depriving yourself, rather enrich your life (we need to REPLACE bad habits with good ones; try devising enticing rewards for healthful habits!).

Set up “artificial” more immediate rewards to encourage behaviors whose benefits are more long-term. For example:

Aim for weight loss: for 1^st 5# lost - reward of getting a massage, for 2^nd 5# loss - reward of purchase of arts and crafts floor lamp;

Aim to reduce, in half, amount of time or money spent on indulgences (such as eating out, intake of alcohol and sweets) – reward of ‘splurging’ by spending time doing centering prayer and learning about enneagram, reward of smart phone and data plan;

Aim to exercise 3x/week consistently: after 3 weeks - reward of purchase of brown trendy boots, after 6 we

eks- new jeans.

[Note: programs that reward for completing target behaviors are proven effective interventions for substance use and overeating, or so says workshop presenter Kelley, though I haven’t yet tracked down that research.]

*Understand the limits of willpower to NOT do something: willpower is not great at preventing bad habits because it requires active focus and holding the intention in working memory (you have to remember not to do it), which fills up your working memory and slows the orbitofrontal cortex from stalling your habit, so that, especially when multi-tasking, you will often do the bad habit before catching yourself. In short, trying not to do something will make you constantly think about it, and usually increases rather than decreases the behavior.

*Use willpower (or more accurately, your brain’s pre-frontal cortex) to your advantage to:

- evaluate your associations,

- connect “bad” habits to long-term consequences,

- pre-plan for and avoid high-risk situations,

- have an alternate solution ready,

- initiate a new strategy,

- decide to persevere through a difficult task.

*Take whatever small steps seem possible today (don’t wait until you are “ready to change”) – any little step in the right direction will reshape your brain and new steps will seem more manageable.

Reinforcing healthy habits

*Set up triggers for continuing the healthy behaviors:

- reminders (such as, use pictures or other visual cues, prompts, thought triggers like "when I catch self grumbling I will say three positives about the situation"),

- scheduling (plan time and opportunities for health habits),

- associations (such as, practice mindfulness: notice the pleasures associated with the healthy things you’re doing);

- making it easy to do the ‘right’ thing (create a physical space that facilitates the desired choice).

*Associate with social groups that value healthful living: attend support and mutual help groups, or find friend/s who model behaviors you desire or who can problem-solve with you barriers to improvements.

*Train up your autopilot (so as to continue to respond healthily when stressed, multi-tasking, or distracted) by practicing directed attention:

(1) learn to notice opportunities for healthy responses, such as looking for stairs to climb, whole food to eat, happy healthful people to hang with, things you can fix.

(2) learn to disregard opportunities for unhealthful responses, such as threats (ignore them), unsolvable problems (let ‘em go), sugary treats (someone else can eat them), trigger situations (plan to avoid).

*If prone to immediate gratification, focus on creating an environment that supports your movement toward health rather than trying to act better in an unsupportive environment:

- remove opportunities to do bad habits (some examples: skip all-you-can-eat buffets, use smaller dishware, forgo the liquor cabinet in the house or treats on your desk, watch shows on the internet instead of TV so that you have to consciously interact to watch the next show),

- focus on keeping your life rich with social support.

*Keep reducing stress (get enough sleep, eat at regular intervals, pace your work loads, develop a sense of control over stress such as pre-planning solutions to avoid crisis and learning what you can control and using this power to reduce exposure to the things you can’t control).

An aside for parents (just FYI in hopes of aiding, not to heap guilt on anyone): Kelley made the claim (I believe based on animal studies (like mother, like daughter, 2001) that stress responses are at least partly learned through early experiences with maternal response. Children of mothers who comfort and provide safety cues/assurances after stressors were more stress resilient. When mothers did not provide or didn’t have time to provide the safety cues, children were more prone to stress-related disease and more prone to addictive disease later in life.

*Foster adaptability and creativity and prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain most engaged in voluntary and conscious behavior regulation) effectiveness through

- challenging yourself with non-threatening problem-solving games (play!),

- trying out diverse strategies in situations, and

- accepting a measure of failure when trying out new things.

What I most take home from all of this can be summarized by: letting go of bad habits for healthy habits will improve my life, and I can aid that by REPLACING the bad habits, rather than focus on depriving myself.

That “take away” encourages me: it makes it seem doable. I’ve noticed as well that it’s God's heart to urge us toward letting go of the harmful so as to embrace what will benefit or “profit” us.

“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.” – Isaiah 48:17b.

Believing that all good is from God, I wish for you that God (however you define him/her) will be with you this year in pursuing all things good and profitable and well.

May this be, for you, a year of waking to new wellness possibilities and potentials. Happy new year to you!

On Waking, by John O’Donohue

I give thanks for arriving

Safely in a new dawn,

For the gift of eyes

To see the world,

The gift of mind

To feel at home

In my life.

The waves of possibility

Breaking on the shore of dawn,

The harvest of the past

That awaits my hunger,

And all the furtherings

This new day will bring.

Small package

"When a man is wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty small package."
– John Ruskin, author, art critic, social reformer (1819-1900)

Rejoice, give thanks, and sing

“…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

- Ephesians 5:18-20

One of my favorite holiday traditions for these last two decades has been attending the St. Olaf Christmas Festival concert. The music quiets my distracted heart. Beautiful sounds and sights gladden my eager senses. Words telling the story of Jesus’ birth soothe my soul and bring me again to deep gratitude: the divine takes on human form!

Music seems to me to be the sublime entering our everyday physical world, and in many ways music benefits us. In this December holiday season of muc

h music, might you consider with me some of the effects music has on our well-being?

Science Daily reports on some research: “Music and mood are closely interrelated -- listening to a sad or happy song on the radio can make you feel more sad or happy. However, such mood changes not only affect how you feel, they also chan

ge your perception. For example, people will recognize happy faces if they are feeling happy themselves. A new study by researcher Jacob Jolij and student Maaike Meurs of the Psychology Department of the University of Groningen shows that music has an even more dramatic effect on perception: even if there is nothing to see, people sometimes still see happy faces when they are listening to happy mu

sic and sad faces when they are listening to sad music.”

{Find more on the therapy of music as the P.S. segment of this email.}

The opening orchestral number of the Christmas Festival concert was especially mood-modulating. It invoked a desire to breathe and flow with the pulsing acoustical movement. The music felt inspiring, like a soundtrack to an epic story, like it belongs to all of us.

I wanted to hear the sounds again so I searched for the piece, Edward Elgar’s Adagio “Nimrod” (Enigma Variations), on youtube.

On one of the selections I read: “Elgar wrote this piece for his friend Augustus Jaeger, who encouraged him to continue when about to give up composing in a fit of depression...”

Wikipedia entry on Enigma Variations tells us that “Nimrod” is the best-known large-scale composition of composer Edward Elgar “for both the music itself and

the enigmas behind it. Elgar dedicated the piece to ‘my friends pictured within,’ each variation being an affectionate portrayal of one of his circle of close acquaintances.

” The friend, Augustus J. Jaeger, for whom Adagio “Nimrod” was written was a music editor and “…was a close friend of Elgar, giving him useful advice, but also severe criticism, something Elgar greatly appreciated. Remarkably, Elgar later related on several occasions how Jaeger had encouraged him as an artist and had stimulated him to continue composing despite setbacks. The name of the variation refers to Nimrod, an Old Testament patriarch described as "a mighty hunter before the Lord" - the name Jäger being German for hunter.

In 1904 Elgar told Dora Penny (“Dorabella”) that this variation is not really a portrait, but “the story of something that happened.”^[6] Once, when Elgar had been very depressed and was about to give it all up and write no more music, Jaeger had visited him and encouraged him to continue composing. He referred to Ludwig van Beethoven, who had a lot of worries, but wrote more and more beautiful music. “And that is what you must do...”"

That story causes me to wonder: what are the things that I must do? And how about you? What are the gifts and passions we bring to our world? {which calls to mind Frederick Buechner's words, “God calls us to where our great joy meets the world’s great need.”}

How might we benefit each other? (as Elgar’s friend did for him by encouraging words? or as Elgar did for me by composing his moving music?)

How might listening to the music of this season (or whatever music is of your preference) lift your mood and bring you to rejoice, give thanks, and sing?

May you listen to music that delights, may you listen to your deepest heart (I appreciated this thought expressed in one of the songs of the St. Olaf concert, words provided immediately below), and may you be most attentive to your many gifts in this month of December.

I wish for you a Merry Christmas (or merry whatever holiday you celebrate), a grand new year, and all goodness and love.

Deepest Heart

Morning dawns, the moment of wonder,

The threshold of darkness and light.

The cardinals, the robins ask to “be.”

God answers, “Yes,” and opens their eyes.

The birds begin to dance and sing.

When Gabriel told Mary of God’s plan, she was filled with doubt and fear.

The angel assured her, “So it will be.”

She listened to her deepest heart.

“Here I am, the servant of the Lord.” “Here we are!”

Help us to see the sacred place in ev’ry heart,

Where God’s truth and glory meet our despair,

Where the angels say, “Do not be afraid,”

Where God has planted the seed of love.

God calls us to open our eyes,

To see the Divine in ourselves and each other,

To welcome the stranger, say “Yes” to the outcast.

May the loneliness and the darkness of this life

Vanish in love’s healing light.

Let us dance and sing with the first birds of morning.

God is with us, God of love.

God, our help, and God our light.

- David Bengtson

PS: If you're interested, here’s some research on the therapeutic benefits of music:

[Note: Some of these claims are well-substantiated with research, others are not as completely (based on my brief look at some of the literature). You might want to do your own research…]

*A scientific study by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London has found that patients who listen to live music need less drugs and recover more quickly than those who do not. According to Dr Rosalia Staricoff, who carried out the study, there is growing scientific evidence that music aids physical changes which can help heal the body. She said: "The physiological benefits have been measured. Music reduces blood pressure, the heart rate, and hormones related to stress." An Israeli study, presented to the British Psychological Society conference in Leeds, found live music was more effective than recorded.

* Mark Jude Tramo, with colleagues in the Harvard Program in Neuroscience, claim that music therapy may benefit patients in every phase of life, beginning with premature infants. “Babies in neonatal ICUs are isolated in incubators,” he says. “They can’t see well and are subjected to an acoustically stressful environment because of all the monitor alarms going off.” Some studies suggest, he adds, that music can help premature infants gain weight faster, avoid cardiopulmonary distress, and leave the ICU sooner…

Some studies have suggested that exposure to music can modify the widely fluctuating blood pressure that many coronary bypass patients experience postoperatively. Other studies indicate that music can help calm aggressive behavior, a common problem with Alzheimer’s patients.”

*Ralph Spintge, MD, PhD, Chairman of Algesiology/Interdisciplinary Pain Medicine and Executive Director of the International Society for Music and Medicine in Germany, states, “Music is a significant complementary tool in prevention, therapy, and rehabilitation providing medical and socioeconomic benefits.” A few examples of economic impacts: “… reduction of sedative usually used...such as regional anesthesia down to 50% of the usual dosage…shortening the duration of stay on an average of 3 days in an Intensive Care Unit for premature infants…earlier discharge of elderly patients after eye-surgery…”

*David Todres, M.D. Chief, Pediatric Ethics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, MA, asserts that “Music has been of beneficial effect on patients' experience of pain,¹ allaying preoperative anxiety in children,² acting on the autonomic nervous system by reducing heart rate, blood pressure and pain postoperatively,³ and having a positive effect after acute myocardial infarction.⁴ Music reduces anxiety and pain following open-heart surgery in adults.⁵ In a study of pain following abdominal surgery, the introduction of both relaxation and music was effective in reducing the degree of pain.⁶ Music's effect in blunting pain works through the gate-control theory of pain by acting as a competing stimulus that distracts the patient and directs the patient's attention away from the pain, thus modulating noxious stimuli. Imaging studies of the brain have shown activity in the auditory pathway, auditory cortex and limbic system in response to music. Music has been shown to lower increased stress levels and, with certain types of music, such as meditative or slow classical, to produce a reduction in neurohormonal markers of stress.” (Follow this article link for references and to learn of more therapeutic effects of music.)

P.P.S: If you're interested in hearing the St. Olaf concert: options are outlined on “Broadcast Information” page of the 2011 St. Olaf's website for ChristmasFest details. (You can also download the Festival Program there.)

And go here for online streaming of the concert via classical MPR.

Enjoy a little

The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure much. -William Hazlitt, essayist (1778-1830)

Instead of mindless eating

“I like to practice voluntary simplicity… and make sure nourishment comes at a deep level. It involves intentionally doing only one thing at a time and making sure I am here for it.”

– Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Wherever you Go There you Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life”

With some major feasting holidays upon us in these year-end months, I’d like to focus on eating. How can we eat well when all around (and even within many of us) there’s such a tendency toward excess? Today I offer a suggestion: avoid mindless eating by eating mindfully.

This month’s wellness focus offers a few “tips” - maybe you’ve heard them before, but possibly hearing again may encourage you to give ‘em a try (or try again) – [And there's more at my blog from last November on “Less can be more” (I’ll refrain from repeating many of those here).]

TO START -

Model your plate of food on these suggested plates. The USDA graphic, or even better, the ‘new’ “healthy eating plate” addresses specific portion and food selection issues. Follow these links to Harvard’s nutrition site that includes tips for eating right, to learn some recipes and tips for stocking a healthy kitchen, read of nutrition in the news (such as "Healthier Diet, Stronger Sperm?"), and more.

From Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab's tipsheet:

Treat yourself – to fewer sweets by putting them farther away and/or out of sight. College secretaries ate twice as many chocolate kisses (9 versus 4) when these kisses were placed on their desk than when they were placed 6 feet away. They were also more likely to lose track of how many they had eaten.

Choose smaller packages or containers. Chicago moviegoers who were given large–size popcorn containers ate 45% more than those given medium–size containers. This even happened when they were given stale, 10 day old popcorn. Big packages encourage us to eat more, even if we don't really like the food.

CONTINUING ON –

Specifically, by location or event, here’s some suggestions - laid out in Brian Wansink's book "Mindless Eating" – that are based on his research:

At Meal times:

- Pre-plate the high-calorie food in the kitchen and leave the leftovers there. Only bring big bowls of veggies and salad to the table.

- Keep dinner classy by using nice dishes, but use smaller plates and taller glasses.

- Manage the pace: slow down so appetites can catch up with what’s been eaten; slow music can help.

- Avoid having too many foods on the table: the more variety there is, the more people will eat.

- Get into the habit of leaving something on the plate.

- Eat fruit for dessert instead of more indulgent choices.

About Snacking:

-Think “back”: put all those foods that aren’t good for you in the back of the cupboard, back of the frig, back of the freezer, or wrap them in foil. Store tempting foods in the basement, or repack them in non-opaque containers.

-Do not “prebuy” snacks for a future occasion.

-If you get a craving, think of a substitute. Buy a colorful variety of vegetables, precut them, and store them on the first or second shelf of the refrigerator.

-Chewing gum can distract you away from the 4 Cs: chips, cookies, ice cream, and candy.

-Only eat at the table – the one in the kitchen or the one in the dining room, rather than wolf things down over the sink or in front of an open frig.

-The only foods that should be out on the counter are the healthy foods: substitute a fruit dish for a cookie jar.

-Never eat directly from a package: always portion food out into a dish so you must face exactly how much you’ll eat.

For Parties:

-Stay more than an arm’s length away from the buffet tables and snack bowls.

-Put only two items on your plate during any given trip to the food table.

-Use the volume approach to make yourself feel full: chow down on the healthy stuff (veggies) and then see if you have room for the rest.

-When you think you’ll be distracted by an important (or fun) conversation, set the food down and give the conversation your full attention: the more you focus on people (and distractions) the more you’ll tend to eat (therefore, the suggestion to get the food plate out of easy reach).

For Desktop and dashboard diners:

-Brown-bag it: even if you only do this a couple of times a week, you’re ahead of the game because you’re in more control of your food choices.

-Stock your desk or lunchroom refrigerator with yogurt, cheese, nuts, or pop-top cans of tuna fish: protein can take the edge off a snack attack.

-Turn off the computer or pull the car over while you eat. If you focus on what you’re eating, you might even discover that you don’t really like vending-machine or convenience-store food.

-Use food policies and food trade-offs: for example, the first thing you eat at work is fruit; or eating an indulgent snack means taking a walk during your break.

-Chew gum to prevent eating from boredom or stress.

-Replace every other soft drink with water. Offices tend to be dry. We think we’re hungry when instead we’re simply thirsty. Fill up your water bottle a number of times each day.

I must admit, sadly, that too many of these suggestions are ones I do not yet follow (for one thing, I love chocolate and desserts!). But still, we can start today, and start small. Wansink suggests: Focus on one goal at a time, select three small habit changes, form a simple concrete plan and write it down, modify the plan as needed.

And in Eating Mindfully, Susan Albers (follow this link for a Diet and Nutrition Assessment, understanding food as medicine, and how to eat mindfully) recommends starting with one mealtime: breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Choose a specific location to eat, such as your table or the lunchroom at work. Sit quietly. Don't get up, and don't answer the phone. Have all the food you intend to eat on the table in front of you before starting. To be mindful you must give your full attention to your eating. You must focus on the process of eating and enjoying your meal.

We might possibly also look at all that we’re attending to this month: not just with food, but also in outlook. Maybe we can see, that is, ‘take in’ by giving attention to, more of the good around us, and be grateful!

May you realize anew the wholeness that is you, and observe your body (what do I eat, sense, take in?), your mind/soul (why do I give certain things my attention?), and your spirit (where do I find ultimate sustenance?).

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” – Jesus, Matthew 4:4

Good writing

"The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or a new thing in an old way."
- Richard Harding Davis, journalist and author (1864-1916)

I recently read an etymology - and it resonates with me - on the word "religion": the derivation comes from ligare "bind, connect," probably from a prefixed re-ligare, i.e. re (again) + ligare or "to reconnect."

I like this idea of religion being about reconnecting. Reconnecting to ourselves and to God can be enhanced through what I read. Good writing both makes me think, and reconnects me to self, world, and spiritual other-worldly. This Richard Rohr writing draws me to think, seems to say an old thing in a new way, and re-connects me with God/wisdom.

"The essential religious experience is that you are being “known through” more than knowing anything in particular yourself...

We call this new way of knowing contemplation, non-dualistic thinking, or “third-eye” seeing. Such prayer, such seeing, takes away your anxiety about figuring it all out fully for yourself, or needing to be right about your formulations.

At this point, God becomes more a verb than a noun, more a process than a conclusion, more an experience than a dogma, more a personal relationship than an idea. There is Someone dancing with you now, and you are not afraid of making mistakes."

Adapted from The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, p. 23

Only look, and see

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to the body and soul.” – John Muir

I’ve had lovely opportunities to be outside lately – enjoying the ocean beach, walking some Iowa state park trails during an annual camping trip with friends, strolling at the Arboretum and playing today with grandson Noah and Opa Gregg at the “big park.” I’ve talked about it before (May 6, 2009 blog post), still I’d like to encourage us again to look and see the goodness of "outside" in this October 1^st Wednesday wellness email.

Consider these words --

“The cognitive benefits of nature — even if it’s just a hint of nature like a poster or a potted plant — are many and have been tallied by a number of recent studies. University of Michigan researchers Marc Berman, John Jonides and Stephen Kaplan wanted to quantify the effects of ART. [ART – Attention Restoration Theory – posits that spending time in nature, or even looking at scenes of nature, helps refocus the mind and revive the spirit.] Students were given long tests of sequences of numbers to repeat in reverse then sent on walks — half the study participants on a nature walk and half on a city walk. Upon re-testing, the nature walkers’ scores improved significantly while the city walkers’ did not. The experiment was repeated so that each student walked in nature and in the city, and everyone’s score was better after the nature walk.”

Scores showed short-term memory improving by 20% after an hour interacting with the outside. The researchers also tested the same theory by having subjects sit inside and look at pictures of either downtown scenes or nature scenes and again the results were the same: when looking at photos of nature, memory and attention scores improved by about 20%, but not when viewing the urban pictures.

There is some question around the benefits of seeing “virtual” nature. Researchers from the University of Washington’s Human Interaction With Nature and Technological Systems Lab got mixed results from two studies: One study showed plasma nature windows providing low-level restorative benefits, another study showed them no more restorative than a blank wall. So even though there i

s some ambiguity, consider using a beautiful natural scene as a screen saver: it couldn’t hurt and possibly might help.

Certainly, whenever possible, take a walk outside – for your break, over the lunch hour, in the evening, or whenever you can – especially during these gorgeous fall days.

This month may you see much beauty, may your powers of attentiveness ever increase, may you experience God's glory in

nature, and may you be always well.

Look and See

This morning, at waterside, a sparrow flew

to a water rock and landed, by error, on the back

of an eider duck; lightly it fluttered off, amused.

the duck, too, was not provoked, but, you might say, was

laughing.

This afternoon a gull sailing over

our house was casually scratching

its stomach of white feathers with one

pink foot as it flew.

Oh Lord, how shining and festive is your gift to us, if we

only look, and see.

– Mary Oliver

“God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.” –King David, Psalm 19: 1-2 The Message paraphrase