Chapter 12
Comment on Dream Ha! And this from my midnight dream… “Our brains are being held captive by our ignorance.” Now that statement is definitely something my son, Ron, would say …I think. [Dream: October 17, 2010] For those of you who don’t know, the truth about the statement that we use only one tenth of our brain capacity was made by Benjamin Franklin …without scientific research, but for decades it has been said repeatedly, and now by repetition people think it’s true. What is true, I’m sure we all agree, is that we have far more mental potential than we use. God in His engineering made us specialists. Sometimes we find that limiting, however, we are the brightest and the best of all His creations. For instance, we have focal hearing. I think I would go mad if I heard the audio range that a dog hears, or if I had the visual spectrum of a mantis shrimp with its 16 photoreceptors to a human’s three. We slowly gain knowledge of how to use more of our brains, oftentimes revealing the wonderful marvels of our brains. For instance, damage the left lobe, the right lobe opens up to help out. We are, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image. He is brilliant; therefore we are …you’ve got it – brilliant! A study on autism in Australia is of particular interest to me. You’re aware how the General IQ operates, I’m sure. In the GIQ knowledge circle, the facets of knowledge dip fairly equally into the center. With autism, several mental abilities may be outside the GIQ circle, however, there may be one or more that delve deeply into the circle, making them startlingly brilliant in some specific areas. When I taught Speech and Hearing therapy at Rainier School in Buckley, Washington… way back when - I had an autistic student who did not communicate, and who appeared dull of mind, that is, until you opened the hood of a car. Then, she became radiantly alert, and her language skills along the lines of mechanical topics were amazing. Another of my students, Michael Beutler, who was nine years old, had no language skills, but the look in his eyes said there was brilliance in there… if I could only reach it. As a speech therapist I tried all the tricks I knew. One weekend, I was permitted to have him visit my home. We played “Simon Says” with some success. In that game you let the student just play. When you pick up a movement that they make, you copy it. Hopefully, the moment comes when the you makes a silly move, and the student mimics. What I did then was to introduce the “S” sound. I sang the “I’m a Little Teapot” song with exaggerated sss-ing as I tipped over. Eventually, working that into “sss-oup,” as we jumped and climbed over the furniture in my living room. He got it, by George, he got it, and it became wacky game of sss-ing. Michael was a loveable and enthusiastic young boy. On another weekend when he came to visit, I lost track of him. I checked his room. I checked the backyard. Then, I checked the garage. There was Michael with a pail of soapy water and a sudsy rag in hand, washing our car. That struck me as sweet and innovative. In 2002, I read an article in The Scientific American by Dr. Allen Snyder, a physicist and vision researcher in Sydney, Australia. His paper focused on stimulating the brain magnetically to open up a temporary window of genius, such as what a savant experiences.[i] I continued to be interested in his research and some of the outgrowth that is teasing the marketplace. Such as finding websites like: The Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator www.wireheading.com/brainstim/savant.html |
You can follow the link and order one, if you are so inclined. Just kidding, but there are several who are commercially investing in various gadgets, which advertise to open a window of temporary brilliance.
I was audacious enough to write a letter to Dr. Allen Snyder. I was interested in knowing why, other than my faith experiences, why there were times that I would mentally download complete songs: the music, the chord progression, and the lyrics. The songs would be all laid out for me. I just had to transcribe and practice the music. It was fascinating to me. Did I hear back from him; no, I did not, but that was okay. Being a music/performance major, I could analyze a song, and I pondered the complexities of mixed rhythms, and counterpart harmonies that came through my brain. Of myself, I didn’t feel I was that accomplished to come up with such inspiration on my own, and, of course, I wasn’t. It was the glorious Creator working through me “to will and to accomplish, according to His good will.” Philippians 2:13. Within the year of a great tragedy, I struggled to make sense of life again. My precious Savior placed this simple, but rhythmic, song in my heart, complete with words, music, and chord progression. To learn it, I had to sing it over and over again. You see, He was redeeming me from death. He was placing my feet back on solid ground. Is it any wonder that I am a God singer!? Sweet, Sweet Peace Jesus blessed me. Jesus set me free. Jesus died for me. Jesus wanted me for His very own. And I want to praise Him, And I want to honor Him, And I want to… Love Him. Serve Him Tell all the world about Him. And His sweet, sweet peace that He gave to me. And in my darkest hour. He came and took my hand. He led me from the grave. Into His great, and glorious Promised Land. And I want to praise Him, And I want to honor Him, And I want to... Love Him. Serve Him Tell all the world about Him And His sweet, sweet peace. |