Raising Funny Kids 8

Playing Mindflex

Mindflex is a toy by Mattel that uses brain waves to steer a ball through an obstacle course. For less than $100, your kids can levitate a foam ball through a series of obstacle courses or challenge each other to a game of mind-boggling concentration by simply strapping on the headset and concentrating and relaxing their minds. It definitely feels like something out of a science fiction movie. This is a great telekinesis mental workout that allows your neural networks to reorganize and reinforce themselves in response to new stimuli and learning experiences. Physical education of the future will no doubt be more body-mind oriented, stimulating the brain cells to grow and connect with each other in new, complex ways. 

Mindflex is exercise for the brain. Mental stimulation improves brain function and actually protects against cognitive decline, as does physical exercise. Sports and dance increase physical coordination, however, stimulating brain cells or the intricate nerve fibers called dendrites, which are essentially the antennas through which neurons receive communication from each other, increases neuronal health. The result: a brain that remembers easier and thinks better. 

Learning at the cellular level makes it easier for our neurons to communicate with each other and can only lead to improved communication skills between people (and species). Just as there are mental benefits that can be derived from physical exercise, there are physical benefits that can be derived from mental exercise. 

Our brains exert centralized control over all the other organs of our body. Exercising the brain generates patterns of muscle activity that allows for rapid and coordinated responses to changes in our environment. In a world of increasing consciousness, exercising the brain no doubt offers kids (and adults) a glimpse into the future of cybernetics. For individuals with disabilities, mental exercise (GENIUS PE, as we call it in our home) could eventually lead to both conscious and autonomic control of prosthetic body parts, ultimately increasing mobility and self-migration. 

What does that mean? Someday, when we can insert a virtual machine into the body that can live-migrate a running operating system between two physical hosts, everyone will have the freedom of movement (as well as extended longevity). In the meantime, offering your kids a home-based course in Genius PE might just lead to new interpretations in what presently call: coherent well-being.