You may notice that we are starting the new year with a fresh look. We hope this will make it easier for you to enjoy each issue.
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We have many intriguing and useful themes planned for
Well Now
in 2019, and we want to begin with an issue devoted to the brain. One of the extraordinary characteristics of this organ is that it is the only part of the body that is essential to its own study of itself. It may seem obvious that we use our brains to think about our brains, but consider how amazing human consciousness is.
In “The brain — wonderfully made,” we take a look at this remarkable organ and its capacities. In “Figuring out the brain,” we examine briefly some of the latest brain research. And in “Be smart and stay sharp,” we present some things you can do to keep your brain healthy.
This month we are also focusing on long-term care insurance. We are asking you to think carefully about this very useful kind of insurance.
Finally, in line with our theme of keeping the brain healthy, we have included some puzzles that will exercise your brain. And though the relationship between laughter and the brain is not yet fully understood, you don’t need to know this to appreciate our usual humor section, which we hope brings a laugh.
May the new year hold many blessings for you and your family. May there be accomplishments, friendships, good fellowship, faith, and some joy-filled surprises too.
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The brain - wonderfully made
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Mind flesh
How does consciousness arise from the tissue and blood that is the brain? That is one of the great mysteries of human existence. We know a great deal about the brain, and brain research continues apace. But we simply do not know how the mind emerges from those 3.3 pounds of flesh.
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Because we humans have the extraordinary ability to be conscious of ourselves, we can study the very brain activity that creates consciousness and allows us to study the brain.
It’s no wonder that the brain is a fertile subject for research, and with the growing complexity of our computers and the possibilities of artificial intelligence, we want to know how it works. Here, thanks to
Forbes
online, is a quick review of some of the brain research from the past two years.
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As with the other organs and systems of your body, there are things you can do to keep your brain healthy. Here is a compilation of actions, activities, and practices from a number of sources that will help keep your brain in good shape and functioning well.
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1.Seek mental stimulation
Learn a language, read more, read aloud, play games, take up a hobby, do calculations in your head rather than on the calculator in your smartphone. According to scientists, such activities stimulate new connections between nerve cells and may even help the brain generate new cells.
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Pondering long-term care insurance
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How does long-term care insurance give you the security you desire? If you are disabled by illness or injury, your will have different options for your care, with different price tags.
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8 Superfoods your brain will love
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Cannibals and missionaries
Three missionaries and three cannibals want to get to the other side of a river. There is a small boat, which can fit only two. To prevent a tragedy, there can never be more cannibals than missionaries together.
How could all of them get safely across the river?
She-goat, wolf and cabbage
A farmer returns from the market, where he bought a she-goat, a cabbage and a wolf. On the way home he must cross a river. His boat is small and won't fit more than one of his purchases. He cannot leave the she-goat alone with the cabbage (because the she-goat would eat it), nor he can leave the she-goat alone with the wolf (because the she-goat would be eaten).
How can the farmer get everything on the other side in this river crossing puzzle?
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Feeling confident? Here is an exercise for your noggin.
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Read this aloud saying the
COLOR
not the word:
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BLUE
ORANGE
YELLOW
RED
GREEN
BLACK
ORANGE
BLUE
PURPLE
YELLOW
BLACK
RED
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Brain Conflict - Left vs Right
The right brain attempts to say the color,
but the left brain reads the word.
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For your long-term care needs
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Brethren Insurance Services offers Long-Term Care Insurance all through the year.
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If you're interested in purchasing coverage, you should know that eligibility for benefits is determined by the inability to meet at least two of these six activities of daily living
—
bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, continence, or transferring. Cognitive impairment can also trigger benefits.
It's difficult to think about the fact that a debilitating condition or a disabling injury might leave you unable to care for yourself, or that when you reach your twilight years, the time will come when you will need some extra care. Long-term care insurance makes sure that you will get the care you need. It helps assure that the cost of your custodial care will not eat up your savings. Finally, and this is one of the best things about LTCI, it can help protect your children and other relatives from having to use their resources to care for you.
Brethren Insurance Services offers Long-Term Care Insurance for all members and employees of the Church of the Brethren and their family and friends; and also for employees of Church of the Brethren-affiliated agencies, organizations, colleges, and retirement communities and their families and friends.
If you are interested in obtaining this coverage, contact Brethren Insurance Services at
[email protected]
or 800-746-1505 for a free, no-obligation proposal.
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Church of the Brethren Insurance Services provides the following products - dental, vision, basic life and accidental death & dismemberment, supplemental life and AD&D, dependent life and AD&D, long-term disability, short-term disability, voluntary accident insurance, and Medicare supplement for eligible Church of the Brethren employees.
Dental, vision, and Medicare supplement coverage may also be available for eligible retired Church of the Brethren employees.
For eligibility information, call Connie Sandman at 800-746-1505, ext. 3366, or contact your human resources representative.
Medical and ancillary plans (named above) may be available to Brethren-affiliated employer groups.
Long-Term Care Insurance is available for all members of the Church of the Brethren, their family and friends, and employees of Church of the Brethren-affiliated agencies, organizations, colleges, and retirement communities.
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A not-for-profit ministry of
Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust Inc.
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Contact Us
1505 Dundee Ave
Elgin, IL 60120
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