The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1920-04-30
Psychologist Lessons
On Mind Training
(By Herbert A. Wade. Haiku.)

IbODlt are HOW tOlllllS " ltullLt
that it is just as important for their
minds to be fit and active as their
bodies. This is the true definition Of
education: the harmonious develop
mCnt of the human faculties-intelleC
tual, physical and moral
This paper deals with the former.
Mental training avoids waste of
brain power, develops concentration
and leads to the production of valu-
able ideas. Above all it inCulCates
presence of mind in emergencies and
those qualities essential for getting
on in a business or professional are
er.
Brains Always Win
Rational persons are no longer sat
isfied with getting a mental dividend
of So. They are learning to think
economically and to tap the bottom
less reservoir of new ideas with their
consequent financial quid-pro-quo.
1t is an old saying that brains win
every time, and mental power can be
cultivated more easily then physical
if we only go the right way about it.
In the case of muscular training, w
commence with simple exercises that
gradually lead to more difficult ones,
N'lll'lottN W. " ''INAA W.
habit of concentration and attention
befuae we can hope to possess either
= gaof memory or a plentiful supply
Of ideas. How can we do this?
What Happens When You Think
You must remember first of all,
that on one side we are related to
the animal, and if we were not taught
otherwise, we should live a very SINH
lar life to the animals-what we
might call a "thoughtless" life. When
you use the senses, when you see, or
feel, or hear, an automatic action fol
lows unless you make a definite de
cision OF will to act otherwise.
The Slcepers who pull the bed
clothes ~ when they feel cold do not
think in the real sense of the word
any more Nan the baby who pulls
the bottle towards it. On all this side
of their life. human beings use their
subconscious mind-they perform ac-
tons practically Without making any
mental effort.
Now it is the m, rg of mental eff
fort, the deliberate u 'ght that givTe
man his dominion oven the wol al.
The supremacy of thought has
been challenged.
Try to realize what happens when
YOU think! Think about this concep-
ion of thought power. Than is con-
rolled thought. Now you are posi-
bly, wondering in a vague sort of way
whether this article is sufficiently in
teresting for you to go on reading it.
That is uncontrolled thought-reverie,
or dreamin" IS, of the same native.
Have Yr ~.od Memory?
1t is ny by practice that you car
focus use attention on one particular
matter to the exclusion of all ou rs
and it requires mental strength 10
hold an idea and follow it to its lCJi-
cal conclusion.
It is also important to think on
positive lines. For instance the in
struction to a child not to be unclean-
ly. is very feeble in its negative sense
compared with the strength OF:
Wash your face and hands each
morning. We must therefore avoid
flabbiness of thought.
Ouickness of thought is easily ac-
uuired by a few simple exercises
especially in mental arithmetic. For
instance in your own case multiply
3 by 2. the answer by itself, n so
on. in your mind as rapidly as posi-
BILE, and see what figure you can reach
in one minute by the clock. You VIII
be surprised how you improve AFTER
three or four attempts. There is
nothing more valuable for training IN
mental aertness with a class then in
giving them five minutes daily OF COM
bined operations in arithmetic. For
2 week few children will be able 10
| follow the teachers dictation mental
", but after one or two weeks steady
practice, a complicated sum. lnvolv,
ing all the fundamental rules ana
| fractions, in addition will be a
solved as quickly as the teacher a
PROFOUND the required figures. THIS
is an excellent training for a class
and you get the rousing m OF
healthy competition.
Following Immediately upon the
cultivation of concentration of mental
| alertness, follows the all-important
question of memory and judgment.
Without these we would be but Vege-
tables, not human beings. Few per
| SONS realize the importance of a
healthy vigorous memory, yet many
complain of having a bad one. We
would be ashamed to admit that we
could not read and write and there is as
little excuse for fOrgetfulness. There
rs n more magic about a good mem
DRY then there is in being able to
| H.. 49,. -lIg u, tIa p,nArnin0 No