Learning Empowerment

We Are All Winners

We sometimes go through the world thinking that other people are better than us, that they are luckier or smarter than we are.  The truth is, we are all winners.  We are champions just by being alive.  300 million sperm compete to fertilize one human egg, and we are the ones who succeeded.  We come into this world as gold medal winners!

How the Brain Learns

The brain is made to learn. It's the best brain any species has come up with yet. It's sitting there waiting for us to challenge it, like a healthy athlete on the bench anxiously saying, "put me in coach." Let's take a look at how the brain functions.

We are born with 100 billion nerve cells called neurons. Each neuron has thousands of dendrites which receive chemical-electrical messages from other neurons' axons across the synapses.

Above is a picture of a dendrite, which means "tree-like."

Like twigs on a tree that can only grow from a twig or branch that is already there, dendrites can only grow from a dendrite that is already there - from something the learner already knows. Then, like twigs growing on a tree, learning is constructed, and skills and understanding increase.

The diagram above is of a neuron with all its connecting parts.

Learning best occurs in a secure, relaxed environment. The above diagram shows that neurotransmitters move across a synapse in order to connect dendrites. When learners are frightened or stressed, certain chemicals flow into the synapes to shut them down. People often mistakenly believe they have poor thinking skills, but it's their emotions that sabotage them. When learners feel relaxed and confident, different chemicals flow into the synapses that make them work quickly and well. This points to the importance of creating a home, school, or study environment that is void of external stressors. Otherwise our brains work in a state of protection or status quo as opposed to progress and development.

As we learn (experience, practice, process) dendrites grow together to form larger and more complex neural networks. As dendrites connect, we begin to connect thoughts and concepts for broader understanding. These networks are what we know. The more we grow; the more we know.

EXERCISE:  Think of one thing you know the most about. Anything.  It could be baking cookies, or the LA Dodgers, or nail polish, or rap music.  Think about how you know about this subject, how you learned about it, why you are interested in it.  Congratulations, you have a developed neural network!


Now view the video clip below to get a better idea of how neurons and neuro-transmitters function.

Brain Boosters!!!

Your brain loves questions. When you come up with questions in class or when reading a book, your brain automatically searches for answers, making the learning faster. A good question has more than one answer.

Your brain is affected by smells. Use aromatherapy to keep your brain alert. Experiment with peppermint, lemon and cinnamon aromatherapy oils.

Your brain doesn’t know what you can’t do until you tell it. What are you telling it? Listen to you self-talk. Stop the negativity. Replace it with more positive encouraging talk.

Your brain is like a muscle… it can be trained and strengthen at any age. Stop being a mental couch potato. Professional athletes practice every day; you can practice homework every day. If you don’t have any, make some up for yourself. No excuses. Read ahead… reviews… do SOMETHING!

Your brain is like a sea of electro-chemical activity. Both electricity and chemicals flow better in water… If you are dehydrated, you just can’t focus as well. Headaches are often connected to dehydration, too. Drink plenty of water.

Your brain needs oxygen. Get out there and exercise!

Your brain is affected by stress. Stress creates cortisol. And brain cells in the hippocampus—a part of the brain that deals with putting information from short-term to long-term memory—are destroyed by cortisol. How do you get rid of cortisol? Exercise!

Your brain needs movement. This is especially true if you are mostly a kinesthetic learner rather than a visual or auditory learner. You might find you productivity goes up if you have a standing desk. This allows you to move more easily and stay more alert. Make a standing desk by raising your desk/table on blocks. Or buy a desk with adjustable height.

Your brain loves stories.  When you learn something, tell it to someone else.

Your brain is like a motor…it needs fuel. You wouldn’t put dirty fuel in you Lamborghini and you wouldn’t put low quality fuel in a rocket, would you? Well, your brain is much more valuable, intricate machine than either of those…so feed it properly! All the chemicals and preservatives in junk food and imitation food weaken both your body and your mind. In fact, a recent study in England showed that diet significantly affects IQ.

Nutrition for the Brain


The following charts show foods that are high in antioxidants.  These chemicals are known to repair and protect brain tissue, and to maintain "plasticity" of the brain.  When considering snacks when studying or ingredients for your meals, these should be high on your list:

                             Berries and Fruits

Vegetables and Nuts

Listening Skills

The average college student spends about 14 hours per week in class listening (or perhaps I should say "hearing"--there is a difference!) to lectures. See if you can improve your listening skills by following some of the strategies below:

Maintain eye contact with the instructor. Of course you will need to look at your notebook to write your notes, but eye contact keeps you focused on the job at hand and keeps you involved in the lecture.

Focus on content, not delivery. Have you ever counted the number of times a teacher clears his/her throat in a fifteen minute period? If so, you weren't focusing on content.

Avoid emotional involvement. When you are too emotionally involved in listening, you tend to hear what you want to hear--not what is actually being said. Try to remain objective and open-minded.

Avoid distractions. Don't let your mind wander or be distracted by the person shuffling papers near you. If the classroom is too hot or too cold try to remedy that situation if you can. The solution may require that you dress more appropriately to the room temperature.

Treat listening as a challenging mental task. Listening to an academic lecture is not a passive act--at least it shouldn't be. You need to concentrate on what is said so that you can process the information into your notes.

Stay active by asking mental questions. Active listening keeps you on your toes. Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you listen. What key point is the professor making? How does this fit with what I know from previous lectures? How is this lecture organized?

Use the gap between the rate of speech and your rate of thought. You can think faster than the lecturer can talk. That's one reason your mind may tend to wander. All the above suggestions will help you keep your mind occupied and focused on what being said. You can actually begin to anticipate what the professor is going to say as a way to keep your mind from straying. Your mind does have the capacity to listen, think, write and ponder at the same time, but it does take practice.

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 Better breathing makes you more brilliant!

Clear thinking, concentration, and focus require a great deal of oxygen to the brain. In fact, the brain is known to consume 20% of the oxygen available in the body. If you are one of the 80% who are functioning at 30% of breathing capacity, your brain is not functioning fully either.

In addition, when you begin to get anxious about performing on tests and other mentally demanding activities, it can trigger the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) and all resources are conserved for survival. The brain is further robbed of oxygen and this begins a downward spiral, which further impedes performance and confidence.

When the brain is deprived of oxygen, numerous domino-effects of deficiencies will follow. Oxygen is needed to metabolize glucose. Glucose is converted into energy for all living cells. Since 90% of the brain's energy is used to send electrochemical impulses and maintain the neuron's ability to send these impulses, a deprivation of oxygen may produce profound thinking, movement, and emotional impairments.

Even if you just want to learn faster, be more alert, get better scores on tests, speak in front of groups without sweating bullets, or anything that requires a fully functioning brain, optimal breathing is necessary to reach your highest potential.


QUIZ - Learning Empowerment
Please respond to the following 5 thinking practices.  Be sure to include your name when submitting your answers.

1. This is a 3-part question: How many breathes does a human being normally take in one minute?  How many sperm compete to fertilize the human egg?  How many neurons are we born with?
2. What does the word "dendrite" mean?
3. Explain how talking to yourself can affect how your brain works.
4. Name three ways you can practice listening every day.
5. Why is diet important to the brain?  How will you change your diet to benefit your brain?