My friend, Dr. Riggs, encouraged me to learn about what scientists are learning about the human brain, conscious and unconscious minds and related subjects. I think the two most memorable and affecting books I have read about that are "Incognito" by Eagleman and "7 and ½ Lessons About Your Brain" although Lynn and I started with "The Brain that Changes Itself" by Doidge and others. We often hear how wonderful and complex our brains are. Still, I can see the difference between imagining or remembering and actual presence in reality.
It only takes a few investigative questions to grasp that imagining my sister picking raspberries and seeing her do that are not the same. Was she in the act of picking when I saw her? Which hand was picking? What time of day did it seem to be? My book group recently read "Remember" by Dr. Lisa Genova, neuroscientist. She makes an emphatic point that if you want to remember, you have to pay attention. When my sister and I picked raspberries, I didn't pay attention to which hand she was using at the moment. Genova stresses that if I don't pay attention to where I park my car, I won't have a memory of its location later.
I have been thinking about acceptance of life and circumstances vs. the modern urge to improve. Several of my friends and I are getting on in years and we wonder about afterlife. The more we explore what would Heavenly bliss be like, the more clearly we see that bliss is excellent in spurts but we seem to be constructed to face intermittent problems and disappointments. So, as we apply our imaginations to our hopes for a very fine Heavenly experience, we feel a need for attention to details. We are thinking of enrolling in harp lessons but we may need to practice our suffering high levels of heat, too
