Communicorps :: Brain Stretchers

Base Knowledge

An active mind has an insatiable appetite for knowledge. If you can't remember the last time you spent time learning, it's time to kick start your brain by feeding it something new.

Know people. Don't just meet people. Get to know them. When you meet someone ask who the person is (name), what is his or her career, where they work, when they began their career, why they enjoy that line of work, and how they decided to pursue their career. Then ask about their family, how many children they have, when they got married, what they enjoy about their spouse, special talents their kids have.

Know language. Nothing adds to your base knowledge like learning an unfamiliar language. A new language adds not only a skill, but to your understanding of your native language as well. The background of common words, interesting phrases and the strange turns of phrase of a foreign tongue are amazing bit of knowledge.

How about your own language? Recite the alphabet backwards until you can do it as quickly as you can forwards. This exercise takes real work!

Know fields of study. Go to the bookstore and grab a magazine on a subject you have no interest in whatsoever. Monster truck racing, needlepoint, home decorating, surfing, yachting, golf, hunting, world politics, computer games, dieting, travel, model trains, celebrity profiles--the list is endless. Branch out into new areas for the sake of nothing but knowledge. After you find a magazine and read it, hop on the internet and do a search. You'll amaze yourself when you find whole communities of interest you never knew were there on subjects you never looked at before!

Know God's Word. Open your Bible and read an entire book at one sitting. Resolve to read the New Testament in a month--you can do it!

Do a word study--take a chapter and read it for key words. Underline the word each time you read it. Then go back and write down what you learned by marking the word (this method is part of Inductive Bible Study, which I highly recommend).

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