Lol, Poker Dad, you are awesome.
And Chris is right about the magicians. I'm feeling a little dumb about my comment that they were using midbrain activation skills now. I gathered that they aren't from this thread:
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=1486&forum=15. I even found a book you can buy to learn how it's done (and I'm seriously considering it, I wanted to be a magician when I was younger.).
http://www.martinbreese.com/bookpages/blindfold.htmCokers4life is right though, questioning how believable the actual blindfold-reading is not the real point, although it would be awesome. We aren't after a parlor trick, we want educational and life benefits. Frankly I'm a lot more interested in helping my children achieve skills like in the following video than in reading a book blindfolded. Their are many testimonials on the internet who have photo-reading skills, and I really want that for my family.
http://www.youtube.com/v/joUZpw93eqE&rel=1I think it's time to play "What do we know". (any fellow square one tv fans out there?
)
We know that many reptiles have a parietal eye, and depending on the species, that eye is quite capable of seeing.
We know that people have the pineal gland associated with the third eye of reptiles, but lack the parietal organ.
We know that there are many species of animals sensitive to electric and or magnetic fields, such as migratory animals, or bees. (
http://eartheasy.com/blog/2013/03/bees-guided-by-flowers-electric-fields/)
We know (I'm assuming, because we are on this forum) that tiny children have a much larger capacity for learning than society gives them credit for.
We know that midbrain activation centers are fairly new and are growing in popularity in Asia. They are popping up everywhere, almost like an informational gold rush. We know that many of these activation centers focus on 2-day workshops, and that they involve listening to alpha-wave music, brain gym exercises, and a variety of blindfolded activities including color sorting, reading, puzzles, and physical activities such as catching and throwing balls, navigating obstacle courses, and riding bicycles.
We know that white people, generally speaking, are not very interested in midbrain activation.
We know that
some people cheat/peak.
For myself, I'm very skeptical that all of the children in these videos are cheating. For one, I know that all children instinctively tilt their head up when they are blindfolded even if the blindfold is secure. Think of the last time you did a pinata. It takes seasoned magicians a lot of practice, even years, to perfect and pull off a blindfold act. Most kids aren't very good at magic tricks, so to see a room full of children doing "blindfold tricks" on their first or second day of practice seems doubtful to me. I also doubt that these learning centers would be so successful if they weren't producing results. I'm still pursuing it!
I also know that since I started doing the elements that I understand, I have had some real experiences. My kids have been more creative. My 3 and 5 year-old have started writing mostly on their own. Granted, I've been working with them on this with a few other resources, but I also think that it is also related to the midbrain-ish stuff, especially brain gym for my son. So if blindfolded activities and ESP scare you, that's totally fine, there are still some elements that may benefit you and your kids. I'm excited about midbrain stuff in that it is stuff that I the mommy can do for ME. It's too late for me to change my past and become an early reader, but it isn't too late for me to develop a photographic memory or speed-reading abilities.
I also have to say that something different is happening in my brain, or at least I'm more aware of it. I think photo eye-play has a lot to do with it. I previously mentioned the image of my sheets, as well as my son's moving arm. For the religious people out there that are squeamish about midbrain activation, I will briefly say that I am a Christian, more specifically LDS (Mormon). I have had many experiences which we call "feeling the spirit", or in other words, the beautiful, peaceful feeling of God's presence. I have also been in the presence of evil spirits that have accompanied specific people. As a child I was especially sensitive to that. I had an uncle that was involved with the wrong crowd and whenever he approached the home I would begin to cry uncontrollably. When he walked in the front door I would freak out and run away from him. So I like to think that I recognize both evil and good spirits, and I wouldn't associate the stuff happening in my head with either of them. I have had an "aha" moment from this thread, that intuition is not the same as "feeling the spirit". My whole life I have thought they were, but I now think that intuition is perhaps more related to an actual skill. It's not the same thing as communicating with God. But that's my own conclusion and we few of us are on the same religious journey. It's hard to look into midbrain activation without questioning how it fits within your own religious and philosophical beliefs. I would be open to talking more about the religious aspects of midbrain in private messages if anyone is interested. But back to the non-spiritual phenomena, something is happening in my brain related to images in my eyes. I now have greater power in my dreams, so that's pretty cool. As I go to sleep I've become more aware how my brain is sorting through the images of the day. I've been awake during rapid eye movement moments and "seen" several image outlines rapidly flash in the screen of my mind. That's not something they advertise at these midbrain schools, but it is something new to me, and I'm optimistic that it's beneficial. We'll see.
There's something to all of this, I just haven't been able to pin it down yet. Maybe my kids won't read blindfolded, and that's okay. Everybody's educational journey is different. So far, whatever it is, I like it.