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Sermon Illustrations: Mind

Victorious living is a struggle between the old man and the new man. It's like a dog-fight. If you feed one, it becomes strong and if you starve the other it becomes weak.

People often don't think things through. A New York tyre company mailed discount coupons to 20,000 homes each month for 8 months. The coupons were dated and valid only for the month in which they were mailed. One of the coupons promised to give a vehicle inspection for $1.99 instead of for the regular $3.00 price. In the 4th mailing however, the printer made a mistake and the coupon price was $2.99 a one penny saving. When researchers compared the number of car inspections before during and after the error it was found that the coupons attracted as many new customers when they read $2.99 as they did during the other months. Magnificent Mind Gary R. Collins

…your brain is capable of recording 800 memories per second for 75 years without ever getting tired. Earl D. Radmacher You And Your Thoughts

The greatest preacher you'll ever hear is yourself. (re the endless prattle in the mind - we listen to our own voice more than any other).

When you throw a ball to someone . "Your mind makes 732 million calculations just to catch a ball." (Back of envelope from Microsoft)

A researcher took the top shooters in the USA and found out what they were thinking just before they shot. Then he took novices and trained them to think the same things. They had a high degree of accuracy. Story from Gabriela Byrne.

A lecturer was trying to explain to a student how deductive reasoning worked. "For instance," he said, "I could reason a lot about you just from one small piece of information." "Really?" "Yes. Do you have a dog?" "Yes." "Then you'll probably live in a house." "Yes." "Then you'll probably have a family." "Yes." "Then you'll probably have children." "Yes." "Then you're a heterosexual." "Wow. That's amazing." He was so impressed that he decided to try it on his friend." "I could reason a lot about you just from one small piece of information." "Really?" "Yes. Do you have a dog?" "No." "What! You're a homosexual?"

Putting garbage into your mind is like pumping Macdonald's into your body.

Renewing of the mind: It's like going to the Imax Theatre and watching a 3-dimensional movie. And you're thinking, "This isn't 3-dimensional. It's only 2-dimensional." Then someone nudges you and says, "You've got to put the glasses on." "Ohhh, now I see."

Carrying a photo of a loved one to reduce separation anxiety doesn't only work for humans. A new study has discovered sheep also experience separation anxiety - but looking at a photo of another sheep from the same breed will calm a stressed ewe. A team of scientists from Cambridge University found that when separated from their flock, the sheep stressed out, bleated and looked agitated. Their heart rate rose a whopping 20 beats per minute. When shown a photo of a familiar breed, their heart rate returned to normal. And wait for this: the response was even better if the sheep in the photo appeared normal and calm. Reader's Digest December 2004 p 12

The average person probably takes in 10,000 separate bits of information every second! Close your eyes, then open and shut them quickly, and recall all that you saw. You registered a lot of data in that split second. Scientists believe that everything you ever saw, heard, or smelled remains recorded in your brain, to remain there as long as your brain lasts. You may have difficulty remembering it, but the information is there. You may not have "filed" it where it can easily be retrieved, but that you do retain everything has been demonstrated. If with an electric probe the neurosurgeon touches the motor strip that controls muscle movements, there will be a response. A major part of this strip motivates the mouth, so that if the strip is touched in the right place, the mouth will open and the tongue stick out. … … Simply to carry out the normal function of our body, our brain cells produce more than 5,000 million impulses every second! … The brain consists of a combination of computers. Before miniaturisation a computer comparable to the human brain would have required a building as large as the Empire State Building to house it, all the energy generated by Niagara Falls to make it work, and all the water that goes over the Falls to keep it cool! … Even the most advanced computer may be comparable only to the brain of an ant. Signs of the Times (undated magazine p 3 - article by Dunbar W. Smith, retired physician and faculty member at Loma Linda University, California)

The Bathtub Test: It doesn't hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started. During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalised. "Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, and then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub." What would you use? "Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup." "No." said the director, "A normal person would just pull the plug. Do you want a bed near a window?"

In war, captors often try to mess with the minds of captives. One method is to give them a shovel, point to a huge pile of dirt, and tell them to move it to another point. Once that is done, they tell them to move it back. The idea is to remove their sense of purpose.

Our memories are like a photo album and we're the ones who get to choose what goes into the album.

The peak of your brain's powers comes at around age 22 and lasts for just half a decade. ...That all sounds rather depressing, but there is an upside. The abilities that decline in adulthood rely on 'fluid intelligence' - the underlying processing speed of your brain. But so-called "crystallised intelligence", which is roughly equivalent to wisdom, heads in the other direction. So even as your fluid intelligence sags, along with your face and your bottom, your crystallised intelligence keeps growing along with your waistline. The two appear to cancel each other out, at least until we reach our 60s and 70s. The Changing Brain New Scientist, Magazine issue 2702

Exercise can certainly help. Numerous studies have shown that gentle exercise three times a week can improve concentration and abstract reasoning in older people, perhaps by stimulating the growth of new brain cells. Exercise also helps steady our blood glucose. As we age, our glucose regulation worsens, which causes spikes in blood sugar. This can affect the dentate gyrus, an area within the hippocampus that helps form memories. The Changing Brain New Scientist, Magazine issue 2702